By Paul Effiong, Abuja
The House of Representatives Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft has called for the creation of a specialised court dedicated to prosecuting oil thieves and economic saboteurs across Nigeria.
The parliamentary panel expressed deep concern over the escalating crisis, warning that the illicit trade drastically undermines Nigeria’s national security and cripples its oil production. During a stakeholders’ meeting convened in Abuja, the committee advocated for a comprehensive legislative review to impose far more stringent penalties on offenders.
In his address, the Chairman of the committee, the Honourable Alhassan Ado Doguwa, explained that Nigeria’s current legal framework—which dates back to the military era—has become obsolete and is wholly ineffective against today’s highly sophisticated oil theft syndicates.
“The Petroleum Industry Act does not adequately address criminal prosecution for oil theft,” Doguwa noted, stressing that fresh legislation is urgently required to equip the justice system to deter and prosecute perpetrators.
Doguwa assured the public that the National Assembly would collaborate closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, to dismantle criminal networks operating within the oil and gas sector.
The Chairman sharply criticised the absence of key regulatory bodies from the meeting, single-out the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC. He warned that their failure to attend would needlessly delay the panel’s oversight functions. Consequently, Doguwa directed the committee clerk to issue an immediate summons to the absentee agencies, emphasizing that their participation is critical to securing a permanent solution to the crisis.
Contributing to the debate, committee member Hon. Cyril Hart called for stricter oversight of oil block licence holders. He argued that a failure to develop allocated assets should be treated as a direct act of economic sabotage.
Hart also raised serious concerns regarding the recent divestment of oil assets to indigenous firms that lack sufficient financial capacity. He warned that such transfers risk depressing output, despite Nigeria possessing an estimated 38 billion barrels of crude oil reserves.
The proposed legal reforms received strong backing from the security agencies in attendance. Goodluck Ilajufi, the Director of Energy Security at the Office of the National Security Adviser, lamented that a historically lenient approach has severely weakened enforcement efforts. He urged lawmakers to amend existing statutes swiftly to ensure that oil thieves face far stiffer sanctions.
