25 October 2014, Calabar — Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Charles Obiora-Medani, has said that they are wining the fight against oil theft.
He said before, the country was losing 2.6 million barrels of crude oil to thieves monthly, but that it has now reduced to 800,000 barrels.
Obiora-Medani said “this drastic reduction is traceable to increased efforts by the Navy to tackle sea based crimes, including oil theft.”
He said this during the second FOC bi-annual inspection tour of Navy formations under the Eastern Naval Command.
“In January 2014, when the present Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Usman Jibrin, took over, Nigeria was losing 2.6 million barrels per month. But as at September 2014, which is the last published figure, it had dropped to 800,000 barrels. That will tell you that there has been a major drop in oil theft,” he said.
He gave assurance that the Navy would not relent in its efforts to ensure that the waterways are free of criminals.
“Our effective patrol has made it impossible for sea robbers to attack oil service vessels and international boats that ply between Nigeria, Sao Tome, Cameroon and Gabon. Because of our effective patrol along this axis, they can’t get around them, so they have now resorted to attacking soft targets which are passengers boats”, he said.
*Eyo Charles – Daily Trust
