Nigerians have been reacting to the Senate’s ad hoc committee looking into crude oil theft in the Niger Delta’s recent finding that over N300 billion in revenues were missing.
Massive disparities, inadequate supervision procedures, and structural flaws that have allowed for the widespread diversion of Nigeria’s crude oil earnings were described in the committee’s interim report to the Senate.
According to the report, a forensic examination of domestic crude proceeds and tax oil proceeds records uncovered discrepancies, mismatches, and unexplained payments totaling almost $22 billion in crude oil sales. It also discovered a $81 billion discrepancy between the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) records for 2016 and 2017 and the receipts reported by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Additionally, according to the committee’s analysis of crude oil sales from 2015 to the present, which was backed by inquiries from foreign experts, over $200 billion in earnings from these sales were still unaccounted for worldwide.
Following months of document examinations, written submissions, and public hearings, the interim report identified flawed measuring systems, lax regulatory supervision, and inadequate agency coordination as the root causes of the issue.
Crude oil theft was shown to be significantly facilitated by the use of unreliable measuring devices, a lack of metrological control, poor interagency cooperation, and disorganized enforcement measures.
However, the research criticized the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021’s suspension of the Weights and Measures Department’s operations in the upstream sector, claiming that the move compromised accountability and precise measurement in crude oil operations.
It also stated that ongoing sabotage and theft in oil-producing regions were caused by the lack of a specific court to punish oil thieves and the failure to establish the Host Communities Development Trust Fund, or HCDTF, under the PIA.
The committee called for immediate local and international tracking, tracing, and recovery of stolen crude oil profits for the country’s benefit, estimating that the unaccounted proceeds from domestic crude sales amounted to almost N300 billion.
It called on the Federal Government to either reinstate the Weights and Measures Department in its previous regulatory capacity or order the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, or NUPRC, to enforce international crude oil measurement standards at all production sites and export terminals.
In order to improve monitoring of oil installations and identify theft and leaks in real time, they also asked the government to give the security services access to contemporary surveillance technology and equipment, such as unmanned aerial vehicles.
In addition to establishing a special court to swiftly try crude oil thieves and their accomplices, it called for the formation of a marine Trust Fund to fund the construction and upkeep of marine infrastructure, training, and safety operations.
In order to lessen community sabotage and encourage participation in the administration of oil resources, the committee also recommended that the HCDTF be implemented immediately.
In addition to monetary losses, the committee also voiced worry about the increasing number of badly decommissioned and abandoned oil wells in the Niger Delta, which it claimed were polluting communities and leaking gas and oil into the environment.
In order to lower vandalism and enhance the amount of crude available for local consumption, it was suggested that these wells be turned over to the NUPRC for use in modular refineries.
It did, however, highlight a little rebound in crude oil production, which rose by 9.5 percent in 2023 from 490.95 million barrels in 2022 to 537.57 million barrels, suggesting an improvement in both production and security conditions.
After Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, the Committee’s former chairman, passed away on February 11, 2025, the Committee was reorganized and asked the Senate to give it the power to detect, trace, and reclaim proceeds of stolen crude oil worldwide.
It stated that recovering the money was essential to bolstering Nigeria’s budgetary condition, preventing further fraud, and restoring responsibility in the oil industry.
However, the Senate emphasized that recovering stolen money was not the committee’s responsibility, even as it praised the committee for a job well done. It instructed the committee to finish its inquiry and identify the oil thieves before forwarding its recommendations to the executive branch for additional action.
However, there have been a variety of responses to the discoveries, including calls for serious measures to prevent similar financial depravity in the future as well as outbursts of wrath, disappointment, and silence.
Those who are upset and dissatisfied with the study claim that it simply confirms what has been known for years—namely, that the amount of corruption in the oil industry is abhorrent and pervasive.
Idowu Christopher, a prominent expert in the oil business, claimed that although the government is aware of the individuals engaged in oil theft, it has chosen to take no action.
Who is shocked by the report? No, it is the solution. Despite being aware of the source of the issue, the government has chosen not to take action. What about those who own the oil well, aside from those who steal our crude oil? That’s done where?
How is it possible for one person to own an oil well? One person owns a commonwealth of people, and the government is doing nothing about it? Nigeria is the only country where such abnormalities occur without repercussions.
“I support the committee’s suggestion that these oil wells be recovered and given to NUPRC, which would then transfer them to modular refineries in order to lower vandalism and enhance the supply of crude for local use.
Once more, under the PIA, why has the government not put the HCDTF into action? The development has been linked to ongoing theft and sabotage in oil-producing regions. Therefore, in my opinion, the government should be held accountable for permitting such enormous profits to remain unaccounted for as it has willfully neglected to carry out its duties,” he said.
According to analyst Chikia Umeayo, this development has become the standard and way of life in Nigeria, thus there is no reason to be upset or unhappy.
“If the report had been different from what we currently have, it would have been surprising,” the prominent voice and attorney said.
“Some of us have been talking about these things for some years now without any results,” he continued. We have chosen to say nothing because the government is unwilling to act.
“I don’t worry about some of these reports anymore since nothing will come of them in the end. Nothing at all, so why should I feel upset or dissatisfied about something that I know will continue to occur?
