When George Perry Floyd Jr. was killed in the American city of Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020, it was said that his last words were “I can’t breathe”. Those words became the rallying cry of activists of all stripes. Some called for police reform, while others pushed for the defunding of the police. In every voice, there was a sense of urgency to do something, anything to fundamentally change the narrative. The economy of Nigeria has been bleeding for so long, and soon, it might not be able to breathe again. However, in spite of the cacophony of voices from every arm of government, especially the National Assembly, recently, there is no sense of urgency.

Not even the fact that the country is projected to lose a whopping $7.3 billion (or N3.038trillion) is enough to declare a state of emergency or outright war in the industry on oil theft. We are the giant of Africa, yes, by population and GDP. We are also the largest oil-producing country in Africa, yes; but that was before the nanny tasted the elixir in the feeding bottle that she was only meant to protect. Countries like Angola and Libya have overtaken us. Currently, we are the former largest oil-producing country in Africa; and it is not because our quota was reduced by OPEC, or that our oil fields have dried up, and neither is it because we are at war. No. Corruption has undergone a metamorphosis; it has shifted from the coffers to the source with the connivance of officials.

Just like George Floyd, the Nigerian oil and gas industry is gasping for breath because it has been garroted by soldiers of fortune. These men have their knees firmly on the diaphragm of the Nigerian economy. But they are not alone. Those who are deployed to secure oil installations in the Niger Delta have now become our nemesis. Everyone in the Niger Delta knows it, the governors, the multinationals, traditional rulers, regulatory agencies, and President Buhari are fully aware of the humongous amount of revenue lost daily. The cacophony of voices from all quarters suddenly harping on the issue of oil theft gives the sense that the country at large, and those in government in particular have been reused from their slumber. Or, should I rather say those key indicators of the arrival of a tipping point in the oil theft pantomime is now in the public domain, and it has become a national embarrassment.

Governor Wike was ridiculed in some quarters; others called it politics when in May 2019 he singled out then General Officer Commanding, 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, and Major General Jamil Sarhem for running an illegal refinery and bunkering syndicate in Rivers State. According to him, “The GOC is doing illegal bunkering; he has his own team that is making money for him through oil bunkering.” In November 2021, Governor Wike explained why oil bunkering and illegal refining will not stop. He made a broad accusation, with the intent that bunkering and illegal refining have percolated every facet of the security architecture of the state, involving all security agencies.

According to him, “You know this bunkering cannot stop; let’s be serious about it, everybody is involved. The military is involved. Police are involved. The Nigeria Civil Defence Corps is involved. If not, there is no way bunkering can continue. It’s a terrible thing”.”I don’t know, whether we should take the issue of bunkering to even be more serious than treason. If you go around and see what has happened to our environment, you’ll have pity on us.”During a gathering of traditional rulers in January, the governor revealed how he acted on intelligence to stop an army major from providing escort services to illegal refiners taking petroleum products out of the state.

Expressing his frustration at that time, he said, “I don’t know how I can be a security officer sent to a place to protect people, to protect whatsoever belongs to the Federal Government, at the same time, I’m involved in sabotaging the national economy.” Seven months ago, during the donation and inauguration of 14 ballistic gunboats to the Navy, Army, Police, and the Nigerian Civil Defense Corps at NNS Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, Governor Wike reiterated that security agents are working at cross purposes with the government in the fight against illegal bunkering and refining of petroleum products. According to him, “most of the problem we have with illegal oil bunkering is that security agencies are fully involved in this illegal oil bunkering. That’s the truth. Civil Defence is involved, Army is involved, police are involved; Navy is involved. Let us tell ourselves the simple truth.”

Governor Wike’s words were the strongest of anyone in government, and it accurately situates oil bunkering and illegal refining side by side with other treasonable offences where it properly belongs. To date, no high-profile security agent has been prosecuted, even though they are neck deep in this high treason, and economic sabotage. In a recent news conference on the operations of the military, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor, tried to disassociate the army from any acts of illegal bunkering, and refining activities. He floated several numbers to show the efforts of the army in curbing the menace.

However, not one mention of the arrest of any high-ranking army officer, or security agent, even against the backdrop of recent allegations from the GMD of NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, that security agents are complicit. Despite the strenuous denials of the army, major stakeholders in the Niger Delta, like the Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) have continued to shed light on the involvement of the army in the illegal bunkering and refining business, and also on other criminal excesses of the army. Last week, the spokesman of the IYC, Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, alleged that most of the recent operations of the Nigerian Army had only occurred due to a conflict of interest between them and the oil thieves.  He stated that “in some cases, the Nigerian Military authorities get intelligence report from sister agencies on the complicit involvement of its personnel in cases of illegal oil bunkering and crude oil theft in the region but they keep mute.” According to him, investigations have shown that most of the repeated military invasions of communities have a criminal aspect of armed campaign against the Ijaw nation and the conflict of interests in the proceeds accrued from illegal activities of crude oil theft in the region.

Ekerefe further alleged that some military personnel serving in the region had become richer than those in the Presidency by being posted to the region. He stated that some get as much as N500, 000 weekly to allow secret movement of a whopping 61 thousand litres of stolen crude to a vessel berthed on the Atlantic Ocean under the security escort of combatant armed military personnel. Others own and protect illegal bunkering sites along the waterways and rivers.” The recent award of a surveillance contract to the tune of N4 billion per month to former Niger Delta warlord, Chief Government Epkemupolo (popularly known as Tompolo) is nothing but an indictment on the army, and a testament to their failure to protect critical infrastructure. It is now suspected in some quarters, that most of the Niger Delta groups who vehemently challenged the surveillance contract were in cohort with the army. At this point, only God knows how the synergy between Tompolo’s men and the military would work, particularly due to their divergent interests. Imagine the irony of a civilian security outfit paid to protect critical government infrastructure from renegade soldiers. Regrettably, this is how far the domino of corruption has fallen.

By: Raphael Pepple