A human rights lawyer, Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN) on Wednesday said the Nigerian Navy, traditional rulers, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and others are complicit in the theft of crude oil in Nigeria.

Ozekhome was speaking as one of the panelists who discussed, “The Impact of Maritime Security Threats on the Nigerian Economy: Nigerian Navy Perspective” at the ongoing 63rd Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja.

The senior lawyer said the Nigerian Navy has the mandate of protecting the territorial waters in the country and that, it has sophisticated equipment to carry out the responsibility, thus, the Navy cannot say, it is free from theft of crude oil in the country.

He also blamed government officials for the crude oil theft, saying that, the issue is like a situation where a non-state actor becomes more powerful than the state itself.

“The people stealing the oil are government officials in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy. The Navy has the constitutional duty to protect the nation’s territorial waters and all the economic activities therein”, he said and called on the Nigerian Navy to name those behind the crude oil theft for them to be shamed and prosecuted.

As a way of addressing the issue of crude oil theft, Ozekhome stressed the need for strong technology to monitor crude oil theft and piracy and that Nigerian youths should be given employment and empowerment.

He also made a case for serious legal reform to put stiffer punishment for crude oil theft to act as a deterrent to others and that government should legalise the illegal refineries that are in the Niger Delta region of the country.

Earlier in his paper, Commander Obiora Bede Anyikwa identified crude oil theft, smuggling and illegal refineries as major security threats to Nigeria’s maritime environment.

Commander Anyikwa disclosed that Nigeria has been removed from the list of piracy-prone countries because of the efforts of the Navy.

While lamenting that some of the actions of non-state actors undermine the performance of security agencies, the Navy Commander called for the upgrade of the maritime domain awareness capability for improved operational efficiency as well as approval for Nigerian Navy lawyers to prosecute maritime offenders. (Nigerian Tribune)

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