Afamous Niger Delta Militant, Asari Dokubo, and the Nigerian Army are embroiled in a dispute over the responsibility for Nigeria’s rampant crude oil theft. Dokubo, speaking after a visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Aso Villa on Friday, claimed that the military is responsible for 99% of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region. He also alleged that the Army and Navy intimidate operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), who are mandated to guard the oil pipelines.
Dismissing the notion that citizens of the Niger Delta are responsible for oil theft, Dokubo instead blamed powerful cabals in Abuja. He stated, “I also want to say that oil theft is encouraged by the military. The military is at the center of oil theft, and we must clarify this to the Nigerian public. 99% of oil theft can be traced to the Nigerian military, the Army, and the Navy. The Army and the Navy intimidate the Civil Defense, who, by status, are the people who are supposed to guard these pipelines. It is very pathetic now.”
However, shortly after these allegations were made, Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, refuted Dokubo’s claims. Nwachukwu stated that the Nigerian Army had been vigorously engaged in the fight against illegal oil bunkering, oil theft, illegal oil refining, and other crimes in the region, yielding positive results. He asserted that the Army had zero tolerance for compromise on the part of its troops and would not condone acts of economic sabotage.
“The Nigerian Army has been vigorously engaged in the fight against illegal oil bunkering, oil theft, oil refining, and other crimes in the Niger Delta,” said Nwachukwu. “And this has yielded positive results, as evident in the daily oil production per barrel increase from an abysmally dwindling output. 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.”
