…culprits risk 21-year jail term as Nigeria loses N7.35bn daily
The Federal Government has approved the establishment of a legal task force headed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, to commence prosecution of about 500 suspects detained over oil theft.
Briefing State House correspondents yesterday after the National Economic Council, NEC, meeting at the State House, the Delta
State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, said the legal task force consists of representatives from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, the Armed Forces, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence, the Police, the State Security Service, SSS, and other related agencies.
Uduaghan stated that those to be prosecuted risk 21 years jail term without any option of fine since they would be tried under the existing Miscellaneous Offences Act.
The council also said this would be an interim measure against crude oil theft as the task force would be in operation for one year with effect from this month. Members of the task force are to be announced by the AGF on Monday.
After the one year interim measure, the council said prosecution of established cases would continue and all convictions given wide publicity.
Uduaghan added that the decision to set up the legal task force was taken to stop the daily theft of about 400,000 barrels of oil which translates into losses of N7.35bn daily loss to the country based on international market price of $117 per barrel.
The losses have resulted in drastic reduction in the revenue accruing to the government which now faced the risk of being unable to meet its financial obligations including payment of workers' salaries.
The governor stated that a committee headed by Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio with Secretary to the National Planning Commission, the chief executive of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, and a representative of the Inspector-General of Police as members has been mandated to meet with the AGF towards strengthening the extant deterrence policy by ensuring more arrests and convictions of the oil thieves.
The governor added that the council asked the governors of Bayelsa and Delta states to meet with the concerned oil majors and the Joint Task Force, JTF, to work out modalities for the effective repair of the Nembe and Trans Niger pipelines, which are currently shut.
He explained that Shell alone was losing 300,000 bpd due to shutdown of their operations in Bayelsa and Rivers states.
Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwabo, who is the Chairman of the NEC Ad hoc Committee on the 2012/2013 Federal/State Governments Borrowing, said that a $300m (N46.5bn) loan for housing facilities approved by the National Assembly is available to interested states and local governments.
He said that 10 states had so far indicated interest, adding that the interim council advised that states should articulate their needs and report back at next meeting.
Also at the briefing, Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako, who spoke on the need to eradicate grazing reserves in the country, said it was time for the nation to pay more attention to food security as a means of boosting national production and the wellbeing of the people.
Nyako explained that instead of grazing reserves, cattle should have been fed in their paddocks while grazing reserves should be re-cultivated with improved varieties of grass.
Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, also said that 80 schools had already been built nationwide as part of the effort towards addressing the problem of the high number of out-of-school children in the country.
The council commended the progress recorded in the programme and recommended the take-off of academic programmes in the completed schools in September.
The council also recommended that the Federal Government would provide textbooks, furniture and laboratory items while the state government would feed the children and provide uniforms in collaboration with the Federal Government.
