The House of Representatives Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft has called for the establishment of a special court to fast-track the prosecution of crude oil thieves and other economic saboteurs, warning that weak laws and delays in the judicial process continue to frustrate efforts to combat oil theft in Nigeria.
The proposal was made during a stakeholders’ meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, where lawmakers, security agencies and officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser reviewed the country’s legal framework for addressing crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and related offences.
The meeting forms part of the committee’s ongoing consultations on legislative and institutional reforms aimed at tackling crude oil theft, a persistent challenge that has continued to reduce government revenue, depress oil production, discourage investment and threaten Nigeria’s energy security despite sustained security operations.
Chairman of the committee, Alhassan Doguwa, said stakeholders agreed that existing laws governing the oil and gas sector require urgent review, noting that many of the statutes currently in use were enacted during the military era and no longer provide adequate deterrence against increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.
“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.
“If we allow these criminal cases to go through the conventional court system, considering the delays involved, many of them will remain unresolved while the criminals escape appropriate punishment,” Doguwa said.
He explained that the committee had reached a consensus with relevant stakeholders to address the legal and institutional bottlenecks hindering the fight against crude oil theft.
According to him, Nigeria must strengthen its legal framework to match global best practices in the oil and gas industry.
“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,” he said.
Doguwa observed that Nigerian courts are still relying on outdated legislation enacted during military rule to prosecute offences within the oil and gas sector.
“Unless we provide new measures, new laws and a new legal framework, the courts will continue to rely on this obsolete legislation in handling serious criminality within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
“I want to assure Nigerians that the National Assembly, especially the House of Representatives through this committee, will partner with the Office of the National Security Adviser to effectively combat crude oil theft and every other criminal activity within the oil and gas environment,” he added.
The lawmaker noted that Nigeria’s crude oil production remains below budget projections due to persistent oil theft and pipeline vandalism, stressing that curbing the menace is critical to boosting government revenue and restoring investor confidence.
He also highlighted the participation of representatives of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps at the meeting, describing inter-agency collaboration as essential to addressing the problem.
However, Doguwa expressed disappointment over the absence of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission at the meeting, describing the agency’s failure to attend as unacceptable.
“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.
“We frown at that action and have directed the Clerk of the Committee to write to them, requiring them to appear before the committee because they are key stakeholders in the fight against this serious problem bedevilling our country,” he said.
A member of the committee, Cyril Hart, said the committee’s mandate goes beyond combating crude oil theft to ensuring that Nigeria’s oil assets are fully developed for the country’s benefit.
He argued that operators who fail to develop oil blocks within the stipulated timelines should also be held accountable.
Representing the National Security Adviser, the Director of Energy Security in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Goodluck Ilajufi, said tougher legislation had become necessary because existing penalties no longer serve as effective deterrents to offenders.
Similarly, the Assistant Commandant General (Operations) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, David Idowu, backed the proposal for a special court, saying it would facilitate speedy trials and ensure appropriate punishment for those involved in crude oil theft and related offences.
Nigeria has grappled with crude oil theft, illegal refining and pipeline vandalism for years, particularly in the Niger Delta, where the activities have significantly reduced oil production, damaged critical infrastructure, worsened environmental degradation and cost the country billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Although security agencies have recorded periodic successes against oil theft syndicates, industry stakeholders have consistently maintained that weak prosecution, prolonged court processes and inadequate penalties have undermined efforts to achieve lasting results in the fight against economic sabotage.