ABUJA, Nigeria – The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, has warned that international syndicates are driving crude oil theft across Africa, exploiting weaknesses in state and regional security systems.
Speaking on Monday in Abuja at the opening of the Africa Chief of Defence Staff Conference, Ojulari said crude theft was not just a Nigerian challenge but a continental and global criminal network.
“Crude theft and its attendant illegal activities are by no means a purely localised occurrence; rather, these operations involve specialised international syndicates that take advantage of gaps within the state, national and continental security architecture,” he said in a statement released by NNPCL.
Ojulari stressed that security is a key pillar of the energy business and vital to achieving Africa’s energy security goals.
He disclosed that efforts by Nigerian security agencies had already boosted crude supply in the Niger Delta, with pipeline receipts rising from 20–30 per cent to nearly 100 per cent.
He urged African defence chiefs to strengthen continental collaboration to protect vital energy assets, adding that platforms such as the Abuja conference were crucial to defeating transnational oil theft.
The event was attended by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray, and African Union Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Youssouf.
