By Adetayo Omotoyosi Adeolu
Bashir Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, has raised an alarm over the rising cases of crude oil theft in Africa, emphasising that it has escalated beyond a local crime.
He noted that international cartels are now orchestrating this illicit trade, taking advantage of the continent’s inadequate security systems. Ojulari stated this on Monday in Abuja at the commencement of the Africa Chiefs of Defence Staff Conference, a gathering where military leaders convened to address security challenges affecting the region.
Ojulari said, “Oil theft is no longer a backyard operation. It is run by organised international syndicates who exploit gaps in state and continental security.
“Security is not an adjunct to the oil business; it is the foundation of energy security. Our sector has improved because of the deliberate efforts of security agencies. “We owe this recovery to sustained action by the military and intelligence services. The losses are continental, the actors international, and the response must be collective.”
