House committee urges legal reforms and a dedicated court to accelerate prosecutions and strengthen efforts against oil theft in Nigeria
The House of Representatives Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft has called for the establishment of a dedicated court to fast-track the prosecution of crude oil thieves and other economic saboteurs, warning that outdated laws and prolonged court proceedings continue to frustrate efforts to tackle the crime.
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The proposal was made on Thursday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja attended by lawmakers, security agencies and officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser to review Nigeria’s legal framework for addressing crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and related offences.
The meeting forms part of the committee’s ongoing efforts to recommend legislative and institutional reforms aimed at curbing oil theft, which has continued to reduce government revenue, lower crude oil production, discourage investment and threaten the country’s energy security.
Chairman of the committee, Alhassan Doguwa, said participants agreed that many of Nigeria’s existing oil and gas laws are outdated and no longer provide sufficient deterrence against increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.
“We have also recommended in previous bills before the House the possibility of establishing a special court for these kinds of crimes because the crimes themselves are special,” Doguwa said.
“If we allow these criminal cases to go through the conventional court system, considering the delays involved, many of them will remain unresolved while the criminals escape appropriate punishment.”
Doguwa said stakeholders also agreed to strengthen collaboration in addressing legal and institutional challenges affecting the fight against crude oil theft.
“The global oil and gas economy is now in an advanced stage. Virtually all oil-producing countries are making progress because they have provided effective legal instruments to address their challenges. For this reason, we believe Nigeria should also review some of its laws,” he said.
He argued that courts are still relying on legislation enacted during the military era to prosecute offences in the oil and gas sector.
“Unless we provide new measures, new laws and a new legal framework, the courts will continue to rely on this obsolete legislation in handling serious criminality within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector,” Doguwa added.
The lawmaker reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to working with the Office of the National Security Adviser and security agencies to strengthen efforts against oil theft and related crimes.
He also noted that Nigeria’s crude oil production remains below budget targets because of persistent theft and pipeline vandalism, stressing that curbing the activities would improve government revenue and restore investor confidence.
Representatives of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps attended the meeting, with participants emphasising the importance of inter-agency cooperation.
Doguwa, however, criticised the absence of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, describing the agency’s failure to attend the meeting as disappointing.
“It was rather unfortunate that some of the critical regulatory agencies in the oil and gas sector, particularly the NUPRC, neither attended nor sent representatives,” he said.
“We have directed the Clerk of the Committee to write to them, requiring them to appear before the committee because they are key stakeholders in the fight against this serious problem bedevilling our country.”
Committee member Cyril Hart said the panel’s responsibility extends beyond tackling crude oil theft to ensuring that Nigeria’s oil assets are properly developed for national benefit. He added that operators who fail to develop oil blocks within approved timelines should also be held accountable.
Representing the National Security Adviser, Goodluck Ilajufi, Director of Energy Security at the Office of the National Security Adviser, supported calls for stronger legislation, saying existing penalties are no longer sufficient to deter offenders.
The Assistant Commandant General (Operations) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, David Idowu, also backed the proposal, arguing that a dedicated court would help ensure speedy trials and more effective punishment for those convicted.
Nigeria has struggled for years with crude oil theft, illegal refining and pipeline vandalism, particularly in the Niger Delta, where the activities have caused extensive environmental damage, reduced oil output and cost the country billions of dollars in lost revenue.
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Although security agencies have recorded periodic successes against oil theft syndicates, stakeholders have consistently argued that weak prosecution and light penalties continue to undermine enforcement efforts.
