NIGERIAN NAVY JOINS CRUDE OIL THEFT.

The much publicized fight against corruption seem not to yield any meaningful result over the years. This news article shows the involvement of the people supposedly should be law enforcement officers of Government policies especially on corruption. Read after cut

The Nigerian Navy has been accused of complicity in economic sabotage, which has attracted local and international condemnation.

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, who made the accusation recently, however warned that anyone caught would be dealt with.

Addressing the officers and men of the Central Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy in Yenagoa in Bayelsa State, as part of his yearly inspection tour of naval commands in the country, Ezeoba said that the Brass/Akassa corridor of the nation’s waterways under the Central Command’s watch was particularly notorious for pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.
He said it was based on the high level of crude theft and illegal bunkering on that axis that he ordered the deployment of more new naval ships in the area to combat the growing menace. Ezeoba stated that this worrisome development also prompted the navy to join hands with the Joint Task Force (JTF) on the issue.

Ezeoba, who did not state what action had been taken against naval personnel indicted for oil theft, however, told the officers that the navy would not tolerate criminality.

He urged officers and men of the navy to brace up for the new challenge, adding that commanders of formations have been made to sign a performance bond that stipulates that any erring officer would be sanctioned.

Ezeoba said as part of efforts to reposition the navy, the force had established a website to educate people about oil-related activities in the Niger Delta region. According to him, anyone caught would not be allowed to plead ignorance as an excuse for his action.

The Naval Chief explained that the new mandate given to the navy by President Goodluck Jonathan was to eradicate oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, recently disclosed that Nigeria loses about $12 billion annually in revenue to crude oil theft.