Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Nigerian National Interest Defenders (NNID), yesterday, charged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other security agencies to probe alleged theft of 22 million barrels of crude oil in the Niger Delta between January and June this year.
The coordinator of the group, Perry Opara, at a press briefing in Abuja, said the oil theft amounts to economic sabotage.
Opara, alleged that crude oil theft had resulted in the loss of about 1.35 billion, and he demanded that the government put measures in place to ensure accountability and transparency in oil and gas exploration and exploitation businesses.
Opara said although one multinational oil company has attributed the loss of the 22 million barrels of crude oil to breaches in pipelines, nothing in the area suggests that could have been the cause.
He said there was the need for “a comprehensive probe of the volume of oil pumped out from wells in the Niger Delta, the volume that arrives at the terminal and the actual volume which is dispensed from the terminal.
“The unaccounted losses in crude oil dig a big hole in the revenue of the nation. This negative impact coupled with the economic sabotage is aimed at thwarting the next level agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari,” he said.