Oil thefts cost Nigeria $7b yearly, says Energy Agency

THE International Energy Agency (IEA) says wide-spread thefts of crude oil in Nigeria cost the country $7 billion a year.

The IEA gave the estimate yesterday in a monthly report on oil production around the world.

The IEA is an au-tonomous organisation which works to ensure re-liable, affordable and clean energy for its 28 member countries and beyond.

The agency noted that Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the country's largest oil producer, had already said its quarterly results would be down about 20 percent after a series of pipeline theft attacks.

The agency also said that crude oil production in Nigeria dropped to its lowest level in two and a half years in October to about 1.95 million barrels a day because of flooding in the oil-rich Niger Delta. However, production in recent months having ranged between 2.0 and 2.5 million barrels per day, it added.

In a report published by a national newspaper yes-terday, the Joint Military Task Force, codenamed "Operation Pulo Shield", announced that a series of intelligence reports on the activities of oil thieves and operators of illegal re-fineries in the Niger Delta region showed the use of communities as a human shield for a massive attack on oil pipeline, movement of stolen crude , refining and shipping of oil in the region.

The newspaper report further quoted the JTF as claiming that communi-ties visited in the Southern Ijaw and Ogbia local government councils of the state showed high level of complicity and involve-ment of the traditional heads and institutions in the provision of cover to oil thieves in their domain with the discovery of high volumes of stolen crude and refined products stored within the indicted communities.

The report quoted the spokesperson of the Joint Military Task Force, Lt. Col. Onyeama
Nwachukwu, as speaking in Yenagoa on the weekend military operation against illegal refineries and crude theft at the Igbematoru community of Southern Ijaw local council area in Bayelsa State. He reportedly said a re-port of recent military ac-tions against such criminal acts showed a new system of theft with the active participation of the communities along the creeks and waterways.

According to Nwachukwu, though no suspect was arrested in the military operation in Igbe-matoru, over 700 drums of illegally refined products were discovered stored in-side the community and the people of the commu-nity condoned such criminal acts. "If the military had set ablaze the stolen products, the communities would have been razed down. The leaders and people of these identified communities should know that they are the ones suf-fering and not the oil thieves," he was quoted as saying.

EFCC arraigns 11 in Bayelsa over oil theft The Economic and Fi-nancial Crimes Commis-sion (EFCC) has arraigned eleven persons on a two-count charge bordering on illegal deal-ing in petroleum products at a Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State .

The accused persons are Isiaka Edeleye, John B. Kpalam, Adedotun Awofidipe, Harris Us-anga, Gilbert Eborty, Solomon Monday, Abang Jacob Ekwo, Adedayo Akinyoade, Victor Ekpe, Ernest Okon Ati and Inwang Akabio.

The eleven accused per-sons, according to a statement issued yesterday by the Acting Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, were arrested on board vessel MT AEGLE with 200 metric tons of petro-leum product suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) bunkered from EX MT Mercy II into MT AEGLE. Count.

One of the charges against the accused persons reads: “That you Isi-aka Edeleye, John b. Kpalam, Adedotun Awofidipe, Harris Us-anga, Gilbert Eborty, Solomon Monday, Abang
Jacob Ekwo, Adedayo Akinyoade, Victor Ekpe, Ernest Okon Ati, being crew members in MT AEGLE with Reg. No. IMO-8023890 and In-wang Akabio with others at large on or about the 25th day of April, 2012 in Brass, Bayelsa State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did conspire among your-selves to commit felony to wit dealing in petro-leum product and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act CAP M17 of the Revised Edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) 2007 and pun-ishable under Section 1(17) of the same Act”.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against them and were granted bail by Justice C. E. Archibong in the sum of N1million and one surety each in like sum.

While adjourning the case to November 30, 2012, for commencement of trial, the Judge ordered that the accused persons be remanded in EFCC custody for seven days
and thereafter be trans-ferred to Ahoada prison, if they are still unable to meet their bail condition.

It would be recalled that the accused persons were handed over to the EFCC on September 20, 2012, after their arrest on May 4, 2012, by officers of the NNS Pathfinder, Nigerian Navy, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt .

The purported owner of the product, Akpabio Inwang was later arrested by the operatives of the Commission on September 24, 2012, in Calabar, Cross River State.

Nigerian Compass