Lawyer Mike Ozekhome has called for the deployment of “powerful technology” to stop crude oil theft and piracy in Nigeria.
Mr. Ozekhome, SAN made the call on Wednesday while speaking as a panelist at one of the working sessions of the ongoing debate. Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference at the Abuja National Stadium.
He also advocated serious legal reform to impose harsher penalties for crude oil theft to act as a deterrent to others, and that the government should legalize illegal refineries found in the country’s Niger Delta region.
The constitutionalist also blamed the traditional rulers, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissionamong others, due to the increase in theft of crude oil in Nigeria.
The lawyer, along with other panelists, were discussing the topic “The Impact of Maritime Security Threats on the Nigerian Economy – The Nigerian Navy Perspective”.
He said Nigerian Navy it was mandated to protect the country’s territorial waters with sophisticated equipment to fulfill its responsibility.
“If you have a security man in your house and burglars break into your house, you will definitely blame the security man.
“The Navy has a responsibility to protect our territorial waters from crude oil theft and therefore cannot say that it is free of crude oil theft in the country.
“How can the Navy say that it doesn’t know how a huge marine vessel will disappear from the high seas like a spirit?
“Are these vessels that transport this stolen crude escorted by security personnel? Who are these staff? Isn’t the Navy responsible? asked Mr. Ozekhome.
He also accused senior government officials of crude oil theft, saying the problem was like a situation where a non-state actor became more powerful than the state itself.
“The people stealing the oil are government officials in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy. The Navy has a constitutional duty to protect the nation’s territorial waters and all economic activities in them,” he stated.
He asked the navy to identify those responsible for the crude oil theft so they could be shamed and prosecuted.
He also said young Nigerians needed employment and “empowerment” as part of efforts to keep them legally engaged and free from crime.
“How can you arrest a ship with billions of naira worth of crude oil and only fine it 500,000 naira?” he said.
The lawyer called on the government to legalize illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region to curb illegal refining.
‘The involvement of non-state actors undermines the authority of the navy’
For his part, Obiora Anyikwa, Commander of the Nigerian Navy, identified crude oil theft, smuggling and illegal refineries as major security threats in Nigeria’s maritime environment.
Anyikwa, however, said that thanks to the efforts of the navy, Nigeria had been removed from the list of countries prone to piracy.
He listed some of the main challenges facing the navy in the fight against piracy and gross theft, including the involvement of non-state actors, among others.
“The involvement of non-state actors undermines the authority of the navy in the performance of its functions.
“The lack of procedural powers and the lack of appropriate maritime legislation, as well as the lack of funding, are other challenges,” he said.
He said empowering maritime lawyers to prosecute maritime-related cases in court would go a long way in making the navy’s job less tedious.
He identified maritime surveillance, response capability, and maritime law enforcement as the most efficient ways to curb pirate and oil thieves activity.
‘Forces in the government’
Also speaking as a panelist, another naval officer, Patrick Effah, denounced what he described as “enormous misinformation” about the navy regarding crude oil theft in the media.
Effah, a rear admiral, agreed that corruption and compromise were among the factors responsible for the thriving business of crude oil piracy and theft.
He also regretted that there were some forces in the government that were making his job difficult.
According to him, when we arrest a ship with abundant evidence of illegal crude, we are inundated with court orders to release said ships.
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“Even when they are prosecuted, given minimal fines and released, how can it be the fault of the navy?”
Effah said it was demanding to improve maritime domain awareness capability to improve operational efficiency.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NBA conference opened on Sunday with more than 16,000 lawyers registered to participate.
It was declared open by President Bola Tinubu.
(YAYA)