Oil Theft: Nigerian security operatives destroy arrested vessel with stolen crude

*Security operatives of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, in collaboration with Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, have set ablaze an intercepted vessel carrying 800,000 barrels of stolen crude oil with no valid documentation at the time of the arrest in the Escravos area of Delta State of the country

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

As the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) reportedly, had mulled to destroy the intercepted vessel, the West African country’s security operatives of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, in collaboration with Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, have set ablaze an intercepted vessel carrying 800,000 barrels of stolen crude oil in the Escravos area of Delta State.

ConsumerConnect learnt the affected vessel with stolen Nigerian crude oil, said to belong to a Nigerian registered company was set ablaze in the state by a military helicopter.

Earlier, reports had indicated that the vessel was heading for Cameroon with the cargo onboard when the NNPCL operatives apprehended at an offshore location with the captain and crew members.

Captain Warred Enisuoh, Executive Director of Operations and Technical at Tantita Security, and Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferreira, Commander of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, disclosed the oil cargo was illegally sourced from a well-jacketed offshore in Ondo State with no valid documentation at the time of the arrest, according to report.

It was also revealed that the illegal vessel had operated in a stealth mode for the last 12 years in the country’s maritime waters.

The discovery was the latest in the series of disturbing findings by the Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a security outfit owned by former militant leader Government Ekpemepulo a.k.a Tompolo.

The private security firm was contracted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Oil theft has become a malignant cancer in Nigeria for years with unimaginable volumes of oil being lifted by some cabals in the oil sector, a report stated.

It is also recalled the NNPCL told Nigerians 2022, that the Company had uncovered an illegal oil connection from Forcados Terminal that operated for nine years with about 600,000 barrels per day of oil lost in the same period.

Similarly, Tompolo said about 58 illegal oil points have been discovered so far since the operation to end oil theft on the waterways of Delta and Bayelsa states began.

Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State had said the Federal Government had failed in the oil and gas business and should get out of the sector.

El-Rufai had also called for the privatisation of the NNPCL, as he declared the company had been declaring profit without dividends.

The ex-governor equally alleged that whatever sector of the economy the government manages turns out bad.

The sectors doing well in the country, such as entertainment, telecoms, FinTech, and others have no government involvement, stated El-Rufai.