The House of Representatives Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft has proposed establishing a special court to prosecute crude oil thieves and other saboteurs, noting that existing laws and the conventional judicial process have failed to deter offenders.
The proposal emerged on Thursday during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the committee as part of efforts to develop stronger measures to tackle crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other crimes affecting Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
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Chair of the committee, Alhassan Doguwa, said the country’s legal framework governing oil-related offences is outdated, with several applicable laws dating back to the military era. According to him, the weak penalties prescribed by those laws have emboldened criminal networks that disrupt oil production and threaten national security.
He said the committee and stakeholders agreed on the need to review existing legislation and remove legal bottlenecks that prevent the effective prosecution of offenders.
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“The global oil and gas economy is now in an advanced stage. Virtually all oil-producing countries are making progress because they have provided effective legal instruments to address their challenges. For this reason, we believe Nigeria should also review some of its laws,” Mr Doguwa said.
He clarified that the proposed reforms would not affect the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), noting that the legislation primarily regulates business operations in the petroleum sector rather than criminal offences associated with crude oil theft.
According to him, unless obsolete laws are replaced with modern legal provisions, courts will continue to rely on outdated statutes when prosecuting serious crimes in the petroleum industry.
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Mr Doguwa also said the committee would work closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to combat crude oil theft, warning that continued sabotage of oil infrastructure could further undermine Nigeria’s crude oil production targets and revenue projections.
The committee also criticised the absence of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) at the meeting.
Mr Doguwa described the regulator’s failure to attend or send representatives as disappointing, considering its central role in regulating upstream petroleum activities.
He disclosed that the committee had directed its clerk to summon the commission to appear before lawmakers formally.
“It was rather unfortunate that some of the critical regulatory agencies in the oil and gas sector, particularly the NUPRC, neither attended nor sent representatives,” he said.
Beyond strengthening penalties, Mr Doguwa said lawmakers were considering legislation to establish a dedicated court to handle crude oil theft and related offences.
He argued that cases involving oil theft often suffer lengthy delays under the conventional judicial system, allowing suspects to evade justice.
“We have also recommended in previous bills before the House the possibility of establishing a special court for these kinds of crimes because the crimes themselves are special,” he said.
A member of the committee, Cyril Hart (APC, Rivers), said the committee’s assignment extends beyond tackling illegal bunkering to ensuring Nigeria maximises the value of its petroleum resources.
He argued that failure by licence holders to develop oil blocks within stipulated timelines also amounts to economic sabotage because petroleum resources belong to Nigerians.
Mr Hart expressed concern over the ongoing divestment by international oil companies, warning that some indigenous firms acquiring the assets may lack the financial capacity required to sustain production in the capital-intensive industry.
According to him, lawmakers must ensure that operators possess the resources needed to maximise output from Nigeria’s estimated 38 billion barrels of crude oil reserves.
NSA seeks stronger men for offenders
Representing the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Director of Energy Security at ONSA, Goodluck Ilajufi, said security agencies had made progress in addressing crude oil theft but required legislative backing to impose stiffer penalties on offenders.
He noted that while pipeline failures were previously blamed for crude oil losses, experience has shown that organised criminal activity now constitutes a major threat to production.
Mr Ilajufi said the current punishment regime does not reflect the gravity of the offences.
He cited instances in which convicted offenders received prison terms with the option to pay fines as low as ₦100,000, describing such penalties as ineffective after significant public resources had been spent investigating and prosecuting suspects.
According to him, some defendants deliberately plead guilty because they know the punishment will be minimal.
He urged lawmakers to amend provisions of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, particularly Sections 107 and 118, to strengthen sanctions against pipeline vandals and petroleum product adulteration.
“If these laws are not strengthened, the deterrent effect will remain weak,” he said.
Security agencies back proposal
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) also endorsed the proposal for a specialised court.
Assistant Commandant-General (Operations), David Idowu, said weak legislation has continued to undermine the fight against crude oil theft despite repeated arrests by security agencies.
He recalled a case in which a legal officer became emotional after a court imposed what he described as a disproportionately light sentence on a convicted offender.
Mr Idowu said specialised courts would ensure both direct perpetrators and those financing oil theft receive punishment proportionate to their crimes.
Similarly, CSP Idris Abdullahi Mohammed of the Nigeria Police Force’s Petroleum and Illegal Bunkering Prevention Unit reaffirmed the police’s commitment to tackling crude oil theft through collaboration with other security agencies and relevant stakeholders.
Nigeria has long struggled with widespread crude oil theft, illegal refining and pipeline vandalism, particularly in the Niger Delta, where organised criminal networks continue to siphon crude from pipelines and production facilities.
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The activities have significantly reduced the country’s oil output, damaged critical infrastructure, triggered severe environmental degradation through frequent oil spills and pollution, and deprived the government of billions of dollars in much-needed revenue.
The persistent losses have also undermined Nigeria’s ability to meet its Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota, weakened foreign exchange earnings, discouraged investment in the petroleum sector and constrained government revenues needed to fund critical infrastructure and public services.
Despite repeated military operations and increased surveillance of oil facilities, the illicit trade has remained a major challenge for successive administrations.
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