The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged the establishment of specialized courts dedicated to prosecuting cases of oil theft in Nigeria. This call was made by Mr. Michael Uzokwe, Chief of Staff to the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, during an investigative hearing on crude oil theft held in Abuja.
Uzokwe highlighted that delays in prosecution through regular courts are hindering the fight against crude oil theft and other related financial crimes. He emphasized that the creation of specialized courts would expedite the legal process and enhance the effectiveness of recovery efforts in cases involving oil theft.
In response to these challenges, Rep. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, Chairman of the Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft, announced plans to form a sub-committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the Molecular Power System (MPS) oil theft detection system. The sub-committee's formation was necessitated by the lack of recoveries from the multi-million dollar contract, which includes a $5 million retainer fee but has yet to produce significant results.
Rep. Sada Soli, representing Ado-Doguwa, questioned the continued use of the costly MPS detection system, noting its failure to yield any success since its deployment. He also raised concerns about resistance from influential lawyers benefiting from the retainership arrangement, which involves payments in dollars despite the lawyers being based in Nigeria.
The hearing also addressed a report from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), revealing that Nigeria lost 619 million barrels of oil, valued at $46.16 billion (N16.25 trillion), to oil theft in 2022 alone. NEITI's audit reports, spanning twelve years, indicate that Nigeria loses an average of more than 140,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
As the issue of oil theft continues to undermine Nigeria's economy, the EFCC's proposal for specialized courts and the committee's scrutiny of existing detection systems represent crucial steps toward tackling this pervasive problem.
