Ijaw Youths Raise The Alarm Over Oil Thieves Fighting Their Way Back

The Ijaw Youths Network (IYN) has raised the alarm that some desperate oil thieves are attempting to sabotage the ongoing war against them spearheaded by Tantita Security Services Limited, urging the Federal Government and all Nigerians to provide the necessary support to the country’s ongoing campaign against oil theft.

The pan-Ijaw group issued the warning in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Coordinator, Frank Ebikabo, and Secretary, Federal Ebiaridor.

The IYN voiced grave concern about the recent arrest of Tantita Security Services Limited operatives by the Navy in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, for alleged oil theft.

The group said that it should be of concern to the government and the citizens of Nigeria and all those who mean well for the country that suspects of oil theft were shielded from arrest while those carrying out their legitimate duty of arresting them were picked up as alleged by Tantita with video evidence.

It noted that the Federal Government and the NNPC which took the commendable step to engage the private security outfits to fight the unprecedented theft of the nation’s crude resources in August 2022, should be firm against the surreptitious move to discredit the ongoing efforts.

The group said that it is indeed alarming, though expected, that those behind the criminal theft of the nation’s resources are deploying their massive intelligence, weight and resources to stifle the fight against oil theft.

It highlighted the disagreement in the Nigerian Navy’s announcement on the capture of the rogue vessel MT Praisel and the arrest of five Tantita operatives for alleged oil theft, as confused, unhealthy, and suspicious, as well as the rush to the media to trash the enterprise.

It asked Nigerians not to forget the frightening facts concerning the daily theft of 200,000 barrels of crude oil by marauding oil thieves, equating to a loss of over 120 million barrels of crude oil between January and September 2022, translating to a loss of $12.6 billion in less than a year.

The organisation noted the candid statement attributed to the NNPC’s organization Managing Director that the involvement of private security services to secure the nation’s pipelines had achieved tremendous results with the increase in the daily oil production from 900 barrels per day to between 1.4 and 1.5 million barrels.

It cautioned against public display of rancour between those entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating concerted action against the syndicates of oil thieves, describing the current situation as curious.

The group which called for the immediate release of the operatives of TSL in the custody of the Navy, further said that what the nation needed at this critical phase was a total onslaught against oil theft and not a show of division among the organisations fighting the scourge.

The statement read, “We have watched with dismay the conflicting reports of arrests of oil thieves between the Nigerian Navy and Tantita Security Services Limited.

“We are indeed disturbed because these two critical stakeholders are supposed to put concerted efforts in the search for, and arrest of those perpetrating the criminal theft of the nation’s oil resources and the unconscionable sabotage of the nation’s economy.

“Recurrent indicators of seeming infighting among those entrusted with the responsibility of curtailing the massive theft of the nation’s oil resources seems to give the ominous sign that oil theft and its backers are fighting back.

“In the past month, we have observed two incidents of conflicting reports on the operational conflict between Tantita and the Navy on the arrest of rogue vessel MT Praisel at the Escravos, Delta State and the recent arrest of Tantita operatives at Lekki, Lagos.

“In these two incidents, while Tantita which arrested the MT Praisel said that it was on an illegal operation, the Navy said it was not. Similarly, Tantita has faulted the Navy’s rush to the media to claim that it arrested four operatives of Tantita for oil theft last week.

“We know that the campaign against oil theft is a tough job as the multi-billion naira crime project that has produced billionaires without conscience in various sectors of the Nigerian economy would put up a resistance.

“We therefore call on the President and indeed the NNPCL to be firm in sustaining the tempo of the ongoing campaign against oil theft.

“We also call on the Navy, a critical national institution, to keep a closer watch on the activities of its bases on the Niger Delta to avoid sending out a wrong signal to the society on this sensitive issue of the fight against oil theft.

“Nigerians remember the story behind the decision of the NNPCL to engage Tantita and two other private security firms to aid the efforts of the security agencies to fight the scourge that threatened the nation’s security.

“The Navy should not see Tantita as a competitor but a proactive ally making intensified patriotic efforts to rid Nigeria of a cancerous economic challenge.”