Mosques, churches and royal sanctuaries are abodes of stolen oil, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has disclosed.
As the country grapples with revenue shortage, the NNPCL has made an alarming disclosure that illegal pipelines have been traced to religious institutions and traditional palaces.
At a recent Stakeholders Engagement Session with the National Assembly Press Corps in Abuja, Olufemi Soneye, NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, outlined the extensive network of illegal oil bunkering that has infiltrated sacred spaces.
His words: “If you take a trip to those places, you will see at times that some of these pipes are inserted; if you trace them, some of them go into churches, some into mosques, and some into the palaces of kings.”
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This shocking connection between revered institutions and oil theft highlights a troubling disregard for ethical standards and community integrity.
The NNPCL emphasized that the scale of oil theft is not only an economic issue but also a national security concern. With Nigeria’s crude oil production currently hovering around 1.7 million barrels per day, Soneye expressed optimism that this could be increased to three million barrels per day if the challenges posed by oil theft are adequately addressed.
However, he lamented the low prosecution rates for those involved in these crimes, citing a mere two percent success rate in bringing offenders to justice. This lack of accountability undermines efforts to combat the issue effectively.
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