A lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, has called for the deployment of “strong technology” to stop crude oil theft and piracy in Nigeria.
Mr Ozekhome, SAN made the call on Wednesday while speaking as a panelist at one of the breakout sessions of the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference at the National Stadium in Abuja.
He also made a case for serious legal reform to put stiffer punishment for crude oil theft to act as a deterrent to others, and that the government should legalise the illegal refineries that are in the Niger Delta region of the country.
The constitutional lawyer also blamed traditional rulers, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, amongst others, for the increase in crude oil theft in Nigeria.
The lawyer, along with other panellists, were discussing the topic, “The Impact of Maritime Security Threats on the Nigerian Economy: Nigerian Navy Perspective”.
He said the Nigerian Navy had the mandate of protecting the territorial waters in the country with sophisticated equipment to carry out the responsibility.
“If you have a security man in your house and thieves invade your house, you will definitely blame the security man.
“The Navy is saddled with the responsibility of protecting our territorial waters from crude oil theft and so it cannot say it is free from theft of crude oil in the country.
“How can the Navy say that they do not know how a huge sea vessel will disappear from the high sea as if it is a spirit?
“These vessels that carry this stolen crude are escorted by security personnel? Who are these personnel? Is it not the Navy that is responsible?” Mr Ozekhome asked.
He also accused top government officials of crude oil theft, saying that the issue was like a situation where a non-state actor became more powerful than the state itself.
“The people stealing the oil are government officials in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy. The Navy has the constitutional duty to protect the nation’s territorial waters and all the economic activities therein,” he said.
He called on the navy to name those behind the crude oil theft so that they could be shamed and prosecuted.
He also said Nigerian youths needed to be given employment and “empowerment” as part of efforts to keep them legally engaged and free from crime.
“How can you arrest a vessel with crude worth billions of naira and only impose a fine of N500,000?” he said.
The lawyer called on the government to legalise the illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region of the country to curb illegal refining.
