Nigeria is stepping up its fight against oil thieves in the Niger Delta! The goal? To raise oil production to a whopping 3 million barrels a day and tackle energy issues head-on.

 

Nigeria relies heavily on oil, which brings in a whopping 80 percent of its revenue. Right now, the country is pumping out about 1.8 million barrels of oil each day, making it one of the biggest oil producers on the planet!

 

Most of this oil comes from the Niger Delta, a region that has become a hotbed for illegal refineries and theft. This trouble costs Nigeria millions of dollars every month.

 

To tackle these issues, General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, mentioned that security teams are using advanced technology for their missions, both on land and in the air, to keep an eye on the area and safeguard its resources.

 

“We have drones and helicopters that fly [over], [and] patrols that go on water,” Musa said.

 

The government has been working hard to fight against illegal activities that cost the country a whopping $23 million every single day in 2022, as reported by Nigeria’s Senate. And the problem didn’t just stop there; in the first few months of 2023 alone, losses hit $1.43 billion!

 

On top of that, folks in the country often face regular power outages known as load shedding. This happens when the electricity supply is interrupted to prevent too much strain on the power plants. It’s a tough situation that many are feeling!

 

“We have the challenge of energy security in Nigeria… We must increase electricity generation and distribution throughout the country,” President Bola Tinubu said in June 2024.

 

“As a nation, it is so shameful that we are still generating 4.5 gigawatts of electricity.”

 

“The issue of theft would have been far more successfully tackled decades ago, had so many people not been profiting from it,” said Jon Marks, editorial director of energy consultancy and news service African Energy.

 

He shared with RFI that crime has really taken root in both the politics and business scenes in Nigeria, affecting everything from local communities to the whole country.

 

“Oil theft has become institutionalized, with gangs tapping into pipes and often exporting via small ships that offload to bigger ships. This has been achieved by local gangs becoming very powerful, but even more so by the connivance of local politicians and the military – who, in turn, have become very rich.”

 

He thinks that not much has really changed since a report from 2013 by Chatham House, which was done during Goodluck Jonathan’s time as president. The report said that we shouldn’t expect any serious action against illegal oil activities anytime soon.

 

“The big potential change under Tinubu – who desperately needs more formal revenue for an ailing economy – comes with changes within the army. He has appointed new top brass, more in tune with his thinking and factional alliances,” added Marks.

 

In June 2023, following a meeting with Tinubu, Asari Dokubo, Ijaw leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, declared that: “The military is at the centre of oil theft in Nigeria.”

 

Tony Elumelu, a well-known businessman from Nigeria and the head of Heirs Holdings, has joined the conversation. He believes it’s important for the government to inform the people about who is behind the theft of the nation’s crude oil.

 

“Our security agencies should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring vessels into our territorial waters, and we don’t know?”

 

Marks suggests that the people in charge might be turning a blind eye because they’re part of the scheme themselves. He even hints that the Russians have jumped into the oil theft game as well.

 

“By providing more ships, the Russian shadow fleet and other players – who use unregistered carriers – transport illegally obtained crude oil offshore where bigger ships wait to pick it up,” he said.

 

In wrapping things up, it looks like any moves Tinubu and his newly chosen military leaders make might be a bit tricky. According to Marks, they’re likely worried about shaking things up too much in Nigeria, where various strong groups could be affected. This includes those involved in the oil theft scene and other areas that really need some changes. So, looking ahead, it seems they’ll need to tread carefully to keep everyone stable while trying to make improvements.

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4 thoughts on “BREAKING NEWS – NIGERIA’S MILITARY STARTS USING DRONES TO FIGHT AGAINST OIL THIEVES

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