On Friday, in Abuja, prominent Niger Delta leader and former agitator, Mujahid Asari Dokubo, made allegations that a significant number of oil theft cases in the oil-rich Niger Delta region can be attributed to the Nigerian Army and Navy.
Dokubo claimed that the military forces were involved in illegal activities related to oil theft.
“The military is at the centre of oil theft and we have to make this very clear to the Nigerian public that 99 per cent of oil theft can be traced to the Nigerian military, the Army and the Navy especially,” Dokubo told State House correspondents after he met President Bola Tinubu behind closed doors at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
However, he pledged his support to the Federal Government to bring oil theft to “zero,” believing that the Tinubu-led administration would “fish out” the culpable elements in the military.
Between 2009 and 2020, it was disclosed by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative that Nigeria suffered a loss of approximately 619.7 million barrels of crude oil, which had an estimated value of N16.25tn, due to crude oil theft.
According to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s recent policy brief titled “The cost of fuel subsidy: A case for policy review,” the gathered data reveals that Nigeria has incurred a total expenditure of more than N13tn ($74 billion) on fuel subsidies from 2005 to 2021.
During a discussion on Friday, Dokubo emphasized that the topics of oil theft and security were central to his nearly two-hour conversation with the President. Nonetheless, he expressed his commitment to supporting the new administration in achieving a state of “zero” oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
He said “Myself and my brothers have assured the President that there will be zero oil theft and vandalization in the Niger Delta.
“We’re going to walk with an NPPCL and the IOCs to make sure that oil tapped is brought to zero.”
On security, he faulted the narrative that the military was underequipped to take on terrorism, banditry and militancy head-on, describing it as “blackmail.”
For Dokubo, “The blackmail of the Nigerian state by the Nigerian military is shameful. They said they do not have enough armament and people listen to these false narratives. So this blackmail must end. They have enough resources to fight.”
He argued that the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, would not ease the tensions in the South-East. Rather, it would fuel impunity.
“During EndSars, Nnamdi Kanu was walking free. What did he do? He poured petrol on the flames of EndSars. Now, he has been caught. What of the people who have died? This is a criminal. He should face the law.
“Releasing Nnamdi Kanu is rewarding criminality and rewarding gruesome murder of innocent people. He should face the law for the actions and instigations he has carried out.”
The meeting that took place on Friday is a continuation of the President’s ongoing consultations with influential individuals from the Niger Delta region.
In the previous week, the President also held meetings with other significant figures from the region, namely Timi Alaibe, the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, and Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
During the President’s initial meeting with Security Chiefs on June 1, he issued a directive to the military and other security agencies to decisively tackle the issue of oil theft.
