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Tag: Nigeria Military

  • Oil Theft: Nigerian military dares Asari Dokubo to provide evidence

    Oil Theft: Nigerian military dares Asari Dokubo to provide evidence

    Following the allegation leveled against Nigeria military over oil theft in the country by an erstwhile Ijaw leader and Niger Delta agitator, Asari Dokubo, on Friday, in Abuja, the Nigeria Military has released counterclaims to negate Asari’s revelations.

    Recall that Asari accused the military of being responsible for 99 per cent of oil theft incidents recorded in the oil-rich region, saying it was traceable to the Nigerian Army and Navy.

    He said “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 the menace to “zero,” believing that the Tinubu-led administration would “fish out” the guilty elements in the military.

    In April 2023, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative revealed that the country lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N16.25tn to crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020.

    The data gathered from the agency’s latest policy brief titled, “The cost of fuel subsidy: A case for policy review,” also stated that the country spent over N13tn ($74bn) on fuel subsidies between 2005 and 2021.

    According to Dokunbo, he met president Tinubu to discuss oil theft and security in the country.

    He added “I also want to say that oil theft is encouraged by the military. The Army and the Navy intimidate the (Nigeria Security and) Civil Defence (Corps) who are by status the people who are supposed to guard these pipelines. They receive a lot of money from NNPCL and the IOCs and just across the corner, you will see a houseboat.

    “A few meters from the Houseboat, you will see an oil bunkering refinery tapping directly from oil well ends. It is very pathetic now. What is happening in the Niger Delta in the past eight years was unprecedented in the history of oil production anywhere in the world,” Dokubo said.

    On security, he faulted the narrative that the military was not well-equipped to confront terrorism, banditry and militancy head-on, describing it as a “blackmail.”

    However, in its response, the Nigeria Military denied the allegation, adding that they had conducted several successful operations to curb oil theft in the country.

    The denial were made by the two spokespersons for the Nigerian Navy and Army, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan and Brig.  Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, respectively.

    Ayo-Vaughan specifically dared Dokubo to provide evidence to substantiate his claim, disclosing that the latest operation by the service saved the country from losing N71bn to oil thieves as of June 2.

    He said,  “Also, it is allegedly stolen from offshore at sea. We have been fighting crude oil theft taking it to the creeks. If Dokubo is claiming that there is a cabal of military personnel involved in oil theft, let him bring their names.”

    On his part, the army spokesman said the Nigerian Army had zero tolerance for any compromise on the part of its troops and would not condone such acts of economic sabotage.

    Onyema added, “The Nigerian Army has zero tolerance for any compromise on the part of our troops and will not condone such acts of economic sabotage. No black sheep will be spared if identified.

     

     

  • Worst of insecurity is over in the country – FG

    Worst of insecurity is over in the country – FG

    The Federal Government of Nigeria has posited that the era of kidnapping,  terrorism, banditry and killings is almost over in the country.

    FG stated that the worst insecurity is over in the country, saying relative peace is now being enjoyed in the country.

    Nigeria’s minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed made the government’s position known at a press conference on Nigeria’s security in Abuja on Monday.

    The minister said the military and other security agencies have succeeded in restoring security across the nation.

    “As you are all aware, the issue of security has dominated our national discourse in recent times, against the background of the terrorism, banditry and kidnapping in the North-East, North-West and North Central; separatist violence and crude oil theft in the South-East and South-South as well as cultism, armed robbery and sundry crimes in the South-West.

    “Today, we are here to tell you that while we may not be there yet, our military and other security agencies have succeeded – and are succeeding – in substantially restoring security across the nation. As far as the daunting security challenges we face are concerned, we can tell you that the worst is over. Never again will terrorists and bandits and their cohorts hold sway in our country.

    “The security challenges we have faced, as an administration, have been daunting – from terrorism to banditry to kidnapping to separatist violence to crude oil theft to armed robbery and sundry crimes. It’s undoubtedly the greatest challenge to the peace and security of our great nation since the civil war from 1967 to 1970.

    “It is the kind of challenge that would have overwhelmed many nations. But thanks to the purposeful leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, we can say, I want to repeat, that the worst is over and peace and security are gradually returning to the land. Please don’t misunderstand or misrepresent this assertion. We may still witness isolated cases of security challenges here and there, but it will not be on the scale that we have witnessed in the past.

    “Some said the security challenges have overwhelmed the military, but the military has now demonstrated that no group of ragtag criminals can ever overwhelm them. Terrorists and bandits and co can run but cannot hide, and this has been demonstrated by the arrest of those who attacked a church in Owo.

    “These criminals can run but cannot hide, as we have seen in the decimation of the cowards who ambushed the Brigade of Guards troops in Abuja. I am sure you will hear from my colleagues how our military and other security agencies have been decimating the top echelon of ISWAP and Boko Haram, how armed bandits camps and resources have been destroyed, and how the capacity of IPOB/ESN has been substantially degraded.

    “We are therefore not saying the battle is over. No. What we are saying is that our military and other security agents have been able to contain the daunting security challenges we face and that the worst is indeed over. We have now put the terrorists, bandits and their ilk on the run and we will not relent until they have been crushed,” He said.