Crude Oil Theft: Reps Seek Harsher Punishment, Special Courts for Offenders

The House of Representatives Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft has called for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria's legal framework to strengthen the fight against crude oil theft, urging the establishment of special courts and stiffer penalties for offenders.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, made the call during a stakeholders meeting in Abuja, where he stressed that crude oil theft and sabotage continue to undermine Nigeria's oil production, national revenue and economic stability.

Doguwa said stronger legal instruments are urgently needed to effectively prosecute those involved in crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other criminal activities within the oil and gas sector.

According to him, stakeholders at the meeting agreed on the need to address weaknesses in the existing legal framework and remove bottlenecks hindering effective prosecution of offenders.

"We have been able to achieve some very remarkable progress in the course of our interface. We all agreed to work on the same page to address the existing legal frameworks and some of the bottlenecks affecting them," he said.

The lawmaker noted that many of the laws currently being relied upon to prosecute oil theft cases were enacted during the military era and no longer reflect present-day realities in the petroleum industry.

"The global oil and gas economy is now in an advanced stage. Virtually all oil-producing countries are making progress because they have provided effective legal instruments to address their challenges. For this reason, we believe Nigeria should also review some of its laws," Doguwa said.

He clarified that the proposed legal reforms would not affect the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), explaining that the Act primarily governs the regulatory and commercial framework of the oil and gas industry.

"Some may ask what happens to the PIA. This has nothing to do with the PIA. The PIA merely addresses the fundamentals and basic principles of doing business within the global oil economy. None of its commitments or provisions will be affected," he stated.

Doguwa argued that unless obsolete legislation is replaced with modern laws and stronger sanctions, courts would continue to rely on outdated statutes in handling serious offences involving crude oil theft.

"Unless we provide new measures, new laws and a new legal framework, the courts will continue to rely on these obsolete legislations in handling serious criminality within Nigeria's oil and gas sector," he added.

The committee chairman also pledged that the House of Representatives would work closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and other security agencies to intensify efforts against crude oil theft and related crimes.

He warned that Nigeria's ability to meet its budgeted crude oil production target would remain at risk unless the menace is decisively addressed.

"We must not forget that our daily crude oil production target in the budget remains below expectations. Until we address this problem, our production projections may continue to fall short," Doguwa said.

The stakeholders meeting was attended by senior representatives of key security agencies, including the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), as part of efforts to strengthen inter-agency collaboration in protecting the nation's oil assets.