With the granting of amnesty to the restive militants of the Niger Delta region in 2008 by the late President Musa Yar’Adua administration, Nigerians thought the crisis in the oil rich region would be over. But three years after, the problem of militancy in the region still persists. On February 4, this year, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, claimed responsibility for the attack on Agip ENI trunk line at Brass in Bayelsa State. “Our silence thus far has been strategic and, at the right time, we will reduce Nigerian oil production to zero and drive off our land thieving oil companies.” The group further threatened to unleash havoc on South African interests in Nigeria including MTN and SACOIL for what it called “the interference of Jacob Zuma in the legitimate fight for justice in the Niger Delta by its people." The group stated.
On October 1, 2010, during the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence, MEND also claimed responsibility for the bomb explosions a few metres away from the Eagles Square, the venue of the celebration. About 12 persons died during the blast. Henry Okah, one of the leaders of the group was arrested in connection with the blasts. Okah and some suspected members of MEND, including his brother, Charles are still standing trial in relation to the crime.
About 16 months after the commencement of the amnesty programme in which several youths have been sent on training abroad, investigations have shown that illegal oil bunkering and other illegal activities are still going on in the creeks of the Niger Delta. Investigation has also shown that combatants are still active in the creeks and there are stockpiles of arms for more attacks on oil installations.
Despite the truce, several arrests have been made of persons involved in illegal oil bunkering, as well as destruction of illegal refineries. The joint military taskforce, JTF, deployed to maintain peace in the troubled region had to impound several barges, wooden boats, drums of oil, and other container vessels which were laden with stolen crude oil. There were also illegal refineries, which involve the use of drums to heat the stolen crude oil to produce less-finished premium motor spirit, PMS, commonly called petrol, or poor quality automotive gas oil, AGO, also known as diesel. Between January and May, 2011 alone, the JTF said it seized at least a barge at Customs channel with large contents of crude oil and several large wooden boats called Cotonou Boats.
The JTF also reported the confiscation of a large barge sometime in March 2011. The barge measures 50 metres long, 12 metres wide and has a depth of three metres. The depth of crude oil inside it was 2.65 metres. The crude oil content in the barge can readily fill-up more than 36 giant size oil trucks. Also, it was estimated that the barge was being prepared for voyage outside Nigeria, ostensibly to supply an ocean tanker offshore, or provide feedstock for a standard oil refinery. When refined, the estimated value of the product would run into hundreds of millions of naira. This is in addition to over 500 illegal refineries spread over an area the size of eight football pitches along Mbiama River. The poorly refined products are worth about N15 million.
In Delta State, a massive petroleum products depot in Warri South was seized, and about 800 drums of illegally refined petroleum products were confiscated while their vendors were apprehended. Between January and March 2011, a vessel named MT Varik with 15 crew members, carrying 240,000 litres of stolen crude oil along Sangana River, was impounded.
WikiLeaks recently identified unnamed highly placed Nigerian senior military officers, Lebanese, Iranian, British and American businessmen as Nigeria’s oil thieves, who participate actively in the thriving illegal oil bunkering business in the Niger Delta region. It also put the huge loss that the country sustained from illegal bunkering at about 91 million barrels of oil per annum. “Illegal oil bunkering runs rampant in the region. Mission reporting has linked shady oil deals to a former first lady. Ijaw and Itsekiri youths and elders accuse unnamed high-ranking politicians in Abuja. Unconfirmed reports claim that Lebanese nationals possibly funding the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, the Russian Mafia, and drug cartels are also involved,” WikiLeaks stated. That was however before the amnesty programme.
In another cable, a senior military officer, who spoke to the Americans, likened illegal oil bunkering in Nigeria to the drug trade in Colombia. While describing how illegal bunkering operates, the cable says, “A tanker anchors approximately 50 miles offshore during daylight to avoid being spotted by Navy coastal patrols. Arrangements are made for villagers to tap into the delta’s vast network of pipelines, usually in the swamps, and fill small oil barges. At nightfall the mother ship moves closer to shore, where the barges are pulled alongside and the crude is transferred, allowing the tanker to slip away without detection. The barges transfer their cargo to smaller tankers, many of which foreigners operate under false names and registrations.
It is alleged that US, UK, and Lebanese citizens participate in this trade.”
One of the key players in the region who also spoke to the Americans said that “powerful men from Abuja” hired locals who worked with oil company employees, security forces and militants to carry out the illegal trade. The cable said “Higher ranking military officers or civilian leaders protected barges of illegal oil against attacks by militants before the amnesty by “settling” (paying) the militants in advance. Operators of tankers and tanker terminals, including employees of major international oil companies and local contractors, allegedly colluded in many illegal transactions…. No other, major oil-producing country loses as much revenue from illicit oil bunkering as Nigeria. ”
The JTF was said to be involved in the illegal bunkering. Between 100,000 to 250,000 barrels of crude per day or as much as 91 million barrels per year is stolen from the Niger Delta. This is about five percent of the country’s crude oil production. Sometimes, officials of the Nigerian Navy allegedly paid up to $30,000 to serve in the Niger Delta. Some military officers are so successful that they have bought multimillion dollar homes in big cities in Nigeria and overseas.
Despite repeated denials by government officials and others indicted by the WikiLeaks and other similar reports, facts have continued to emerge increasingly, proving that the nation is losing billions of dollars to oil bunkering with the attendant oil spillage which compounds the environmental crisis. The group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Austin Oniwon recently told members of the National Assembly that illegal refineries, pipeline vandalism and bunkering account for some of the reasons the nation’s refineries are not fully operational. Records have showed that the spate of vandalism and bunkering expanded even as the amnesty programme was recording substantial success. This is because, the reduction of militant activities resulted in a rise in illegal refineries and intensification of bunkering and pipeline vandalism.
A former member of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer force, NDPLF, who is still believed to be engaged in activities in the creeks told this magazine that he would not quite the business even if he is paid N200,000 a month. “Do you know how much I can make in one trip alone? If I go to the high sea or into the creeks, I know how much I come back with in just a few days.” He accused top government officials of engaging in the illegal oil business. “What they do is that they even use naval gun boats with armed soldiers to escort their barges and boats. They even escort the vessels after loading them, out of our waters. So all we do is to double-cross them and ask for settlement. Sometimes we don’t even carry the oil ourselves. They understand the arrangement; so we don’t have problems with them. If they settle us, we don’t cause any trouble for them,” he said.
Oil gaint, Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, SPDC, has already raised an alarm on the potential effects of increased crude oil theft activities on the new Nembe Creek Trunkline, NCTL, barely 16 months after the old line was replaced due to repeated sabotage attacks. According to the company, on December 24, last year, the line was shut down because of leaks caused by two failed bunkering points, but since repairs were completed, more than 50 theft valves have been further discovered. In one case, about 17 illegal bunkering points were said to have been found within a distance of 3.8km.
Shell managing director, Mutiu Sunmonu noted that there have been multiple facility trips caused by pressure drops resulting from illegal off take. He described as sad the consistent pollution of farm land and rivers by the effects of oil pollution.
Between January 26 and 30 last year, three facilities belonging to the company have been attacked. He called on increased patrol of the creeks and waterways and dismantling of illegal refineries.
Shell said it lost 70,000 barrels of oil per day in December 2010, which were not immediately repaired because of the swampy terrain. “Apparently, the crude thieves took advantage of the repair window to install more bunkering points and fix hoses to take crude to sea vessels and illegal refineries. The vessels transport the stolen crude to waiting mother ships while the refined product is sold locally.”
The process of bunkering and off-loading oil at terminals or tankers require a network of accomplices. Most of the barges used in transporting the bunkered oil were said to belong to some senior military commanders. Oil companies equally accuse naval officers of forcing their employees, at gun point to pump oil into illegal barges.
But Ibiba Boma David, coordinator of the Amanga Group, exonerated the repentant militants of the recent attacks on oil installations. He blamed the government for the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta but said MEND is not responsible for the attacks.
“Nobody knows them; they are illegal and should stop claiming to be MEND. Government has to deal with this issue,” he said. As a solution to the problem, David advised that more refineries should be established to discourage illegal oil refinery as buyers would be more at ease with the properly refined products from either the government owned or the registered private refineries.
General Adukobia, one of the repentant militants told this magazine via phone that the persistent illegal bunkering which seems to be thriving more now, is a fallout of government’s lack of will and the weakness of the security agencies. “Government asked us to surrender and we surrendered. We left the creeks; we abandoned all illegal activities. But now that government has refused to take action against those who refused to surrender. Are they not in effect encouraging those of us who left the creeks to go back? That is why we are calling on government to take immediate action against all these activities. On our own, we have been protecting our creeks and waterways; some others have not. How are we encouraged to continue to stake our necks to protect our waterways?” He queried.
The renewed insurgence in the region is already taking alarming heights. Just last week, at least two deaths were recorded in Rivers State. Last week, a native was said to have been killed at Shin-Shine Kiri because he resisted some youths who wanted to rob him of his barge. And investigations by this magazine revealed that such killings are becoming frequent.
The general belief of those who engage in the act is that peace in the Niger Delta is not good for their business and everything should be done to truncate the amnesty programme.
JTF spokesman, Lt. Col Timothy Antigha however disclosed that the force has been reorganised and expanded to include other agencies. Some of the expanded agencies in the new structure are the National Intelligence Agency, NIA; Nigerian Prisons Service, NPS; Nigerian Customs Service, NCS; Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS; and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA. Others are the presidential committee on maritime safety and security, PICOMSS; Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC; the NNPC and other oil producing companies.
The operational scope of the task force which initially covers Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States has also been extended to cover the nine oil producing states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers. It is believed that the restructuring would further strengthen the effort of the outfit in tackling head-long illegal oil bunkering, pipeline vandalisation and crude oil theft in the region.
According to the JTF spokesman, to confront this problem, the Defence Headquarters has directed the JTF to now focus on pipeline vandalism and associated economic crimes. He stated that the new phase of the JTF would include, but not limited to, elimination of pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, illegal oil refining and illegal oil bunkering. It would also cover the elimination of piracy and all forms of sea robbery within its area of responsibility. This, according to him, is to create a conducive environment for the operation of the nation’s oil and gas industry.

News Image: