ASARI DOKUBO DECLARES MILITARY RESPONSIBLE FOR OIL THEFT IN NIGERIA

Prominent Niger Delta leader and former agitator, Mujahid Asari Dokubo, on Friday, in Abuja, alleged that the bulk cases of oil theft recorded in the oil-rich region are traceable to the Nigerian Army and Navy.

He disclosed and i quote “The military is at the centre of oil theft and we have to make this very clear to the Nigerian public that 99 per cent of oil theft can be traced to the Nigerian military, the Army and the Navy especially,” Dokubo told State House correspondents after he met President Bola Tinubu behind closed doors at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

However, he pledged his support to the Federal Government to bring oil theft to “zero,” believing that the Tinubu-led administration would “fish out” the culpable elements in the military.

You will recall that In April, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative revealed that Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N16.25tn to crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020.

The data gathered from the agency’s latest policy brief titled, “The cost of fuel subsidy: A case for policy review,” also stated that the country spent over N13tn ($74 billion) on fuel subsidies between 2005 and 2021.

Speaking today, Dokubo said oil theft and security framed his nearly two-hour discussion with the President.

On security, he faulted the narrative that the military was underequipped to take on terrorism, banditry and militancy head-on, describing it as “blackmail.”

On the case of Nnamdi Kanu, He argued that the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, would not ease the tensions in the South-East. Rather, it would fuel impunity.

Last week, the President also met other key figures from the region, including former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Timi Alaibe and former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Dakuku Peterside.

During his first meeting with Security Chiefs on June 1, the President directed the military and other security agencies to crush oil theft.