Joining with David Mark against oil thieves

DAN ONWUKWE
THERE IS A CONTINUING debate on the appropriate punishment for oil
theft in the country. Very often, we have seen emotions come into such
an argument. It is because; we often play the ostrich by deliberately
ignoring the incalculable harm that oil thieves have wrecked on the
economy.
In that regard, the question becomes:shouldn't the perpetrators of
this economic sabotage deserve the ultimate price of a death sentence,
or should they receive a mere slap on the wrist by way of jail terms,
if at all?
The fact that bunkering has become a well organized and huge
profitable business, sometimes carried out by highly- placed
individuals even makes the case of capital punishmentfor such a crime
not to get the deserved attention.
And any one who suggests death sentence for such a crime is seen as
inconsiderate, if not callous. As a defence correspondent for three
years, between 1995 and 1998,I was privileged to have followed the
Nigeria Navy on tour of our territorial Waters. Such sea excursions
opened my eyes to the activities of oil thievesand the mafia called
oil blunderers.
I believe the Senate President, David Mark is acutely aware of the
grave consequences of their action and pained as well to make him
recommend death penalty for oil thieves while welcoming his colleagues
from their recess last week. Few hours after the Senate President had
made his suggestion, oil thieves struck at Atlas Cove Jetty inLagos
that takes delivery of imported petroleum products.
Part of the jetty was gutted by fire, set by oil thieves who had
broken thepipelines while loading the products into their boats on the
high seas. Has Mark been vindicated? I think, yes, but it depends on
which side of the divide you are- for or against death penalty for oil
thieves.
In siding with Mark, you need to figure the facts that support his
position. And that is where I stand. Those conversant with what the
nefarious activities of oil thieves will tell you the staggering
amount they are making at the expense of the economy.
A recent disclosure by the President of Petroleum and National Gas
Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Mr Babatunde Ogun,
shows that Nigeria loses $6bn annually as a result of crude oil theft.
While the amount might be shocking,it also corroborates recent
statements by the Federal Government and oil majors on the extent the
criminal activities of oil blunderers and vandals have caused the
economy.
That confirms the worry of PENGASSAN, which also noted that the$6bn
excludes an estimated N105 banloss from theft of refined petroleum
products. It is unkind not to agree that oil theft poses a grave
danger on our national security. This could be worse if this illicit
fund from oil theft gets into the wrong hands.
Our democracy could be in danger. The bigger worry still, is the fact
that, in spite of these astounding figures, and despite the grave
consequences, oil theft has continued at such a large-scale without
concrete effort to rein in the offenders.
In the recent past, the nation has been alerted on the grave danger
in the Niger Delta region. The Co-coordinating Minister for the
Economy and Minister of Financed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had on many
occasions briefed the Finance Committee of the House of
Representatives, stressing that oil theft represents about 17 percent
of Nigeria's daily crude production. This amounts to about 400,000 bpd
of OPEC's approved daily quota of 2.4 million bpd for last year.
Worse still, figures from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) also show that the quantity of oil theft each year outstrips
the current production capacity of Ghana which is pegged at 120,000
bpd.
According to the Managing Director ofShell in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu
Summonu, the company has been losing about 43,000 bpd to oil thieves,
causing over118 incidents to Its facilities in the Niger Delta.
Shell estimated daily loss is about $1.5 ban per day. This excludes
illegalrefineries in the region which according to the Joint Task
Force(JTF) are in excess of 300 as at 2011 . Therefore, there is no
disputing the enormous danger that oil theft poses to the country's
economy.
At present, Nigerial blunderers among OPEC member countries.This, as
already stated, is bad for Nigeria's image, and worse for the economy
and security of the country. It is an economic sabotage that should
attract the severest punishment, as Mark rightly noted last week.
Considering the fact that revenue from oil accounts for over 80
percent of government's total receipts, oil theft should be tackled
with all seriousness by those charged with the protection of oil
pipelines. It also requires effective policing of our territorial
waters. In that regard, the Navy should be up and doing. Government
should ensure that the navy is properly equipped in sea
surveillance.Also, on several occasions, the NigeriaExtractive
Industries Transparency Initiative(NEITI) has bemoaned the illegal act
of oil bunkering and huge loss in revenue. Sadly, one is inclined to
believe that government is yet to take the matter very seriously.
Statistics indicate that Nigeria's crudeoil and condensate reserves
have declined sharply by an average of 1.44bıllıon,from 38.60 percent,
to 37.16 bpd. This is a drop of 3.73 percent, which could go a long
way to finance a sizeable percent of the current national budget
deficit.
All of this should provoke governmentt Jonathan needs no reminding
that his promise to address urgent national needs may not be fully
realized if oil thieves continue to fleece the country of the
much-needed revenue for projects development.
By and large, the criminal activities of oil thieve underscores the
current hemorrhage that has long bedeviled our oil sector. The problem
should be tackled most decisively.
A legislation for death penalty should be initiated in the National
Assembly, possibly sponsored by the Senate President himself.