Nigerian Navy said it destroyed 7,378 illegal refineries and 908 canoes in the last six months of 2012.
Within the period also, the service said it arrested over 40 vessels and destroyed many barges used for crude oil theft.
Presenting a paper at a retreat for
maritime stakeholders in Uyo on Monday, the Director, Naval Operations,
Commodore Joseph Okojie, said the reduction in criminal activities in
the country was possible because of the renewed commitment of the
Nigerian Navy.
Okojie, who spoke on ‘Deterring Crude
Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism in Nigeria: a Panacea for National
Economic Prosperity’, noted that the war against illegal refiners of
crude was enormous as even villagers see oil bunkering as their
legitimate right.
He said, “In the last six months of
2012, the NN had destroyed over 7,378 illegal refineries and 908 deep
canoes, commonly called Cotonou boats.
“Everybody in the village where these activities occur has a boat. They do not see anything wrong in what they are doing.
“As these refineries are destroyed and
naval officers turn their backs, you will discover that thousands more
of these illegal refineries resurface.”
He added that the total volume of oil
stolen last year amounted to 9,831,520, saying the losses in the black
waters were more than what the country was losing offshore.
Calling for cooperation among security
agencies, he said, “For enforcement in which we handed over all those
arrested to agencies such as NIMASA, EFCC and the Nigeria Police Force
for prosecution, the snag here is the absence of a feedback mechanism
with respect to prosecution.”
Okojie, however, identified inadequate
platforms, ship support facilities, and inadequate funding as some of
the factors militating against Navy’s operations.
No comments:
Post a Comment