By Abiola Olawale
An investigative journalist and founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Fisayo Soyombo, has raised an alarm that some powerful individuals in Nigeria are sponsoring oil bunkering in the Niger Delta.
Soyombo, who was just released by the Nigerian Army, said he was conducting an undercover investigation when he was arrested by the Nigerian Army.
He said his investigation made him realise that there is a system in place that protects oil bunkering.
He made this known while speaking during an interview session with AriseTV on Saturday.
He stated that to completely eliminate oil theft, a comprehensive and fundamental transformation of the entire system would be necessary.
He said: “It would shock you the kind of people who escort illegal oil bunkers out of Port-Harcourt.
“The army spokesman already compromised my security by going online to say that they found illegal bunkers.”
“There are clean men in the military, but we need to clean up the saboteurs who enable oil bunkers to thrive.
“This is a new level for me that I need to do it. Rather than change my approach, I would rather stop, maybe I have one, two, or three undercover investigations, and I will stop.
“It is not the fun of it but the situations we find ourselves in. Imagine the story I did on smugglers. People have to know that in their country they can be safe, and we need to expose these wrongdoings.
“The figure being put out in terms of Crude oil theft is an underestimation of what’s happening. The Crude we were to move was for 50,000 barrels; if the man who got annoyed that he wasn’t bribed didn’t talk, we would have had two trucks move out. No institution can say for a fact the barrels are being lifted daily.
“It is not only oil bunkers that are thieves but those who are also meant to supervise the sector. What we would need is an overhaul of the system.”
The New Diplomat reports that the persistent issue of oil theft in the Niger Delta region has been a significant challenge, as military forces routinely uncover new illegal operations week after week.
This situation has been a significant challenge for the Federal Government as Nigeria continues to fall short of its quota to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
