Former EFCC boss Nuhu Ribadu has said that
the Nigerian government loses a staggering $6billion every year in
stolen oil, saying this theft is on an industrial scale and feeding
illegal oil marketers around the world.
Ribadu, who stated this yesterday in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said that the oil theft at 5 percent was conservative.
He described oil theft as the biggest problem confronting the country
"because it is not just taking the crude oil out and thereby denying
the country revenue, it is also about destroying the environment because
the state of crude oil theft is about breaking the pipe, interfering
the entire process of bringing out the crude oil and invariably causes a
lot of damages."
According to Ribadu, oil theft results from insurgent activities, political and corporate corruption and fundamental failure of leadership.
"Nigeria is going through difficulties, experiencing lawlessness and the citizens do what they like in the country. We have been led in total incompetence, inefficiency, close to total failure of institutions, including the law enforcement agencies, the military and so on," he said.
He expressed surprising that Nigeria was suffering this menace, when it is not too difficult to control it.
According to him, "When I was the chairman of the EFCC, we are able to identify those that were doing it. We also took several people to justice, seized the stolen goods and millions of barrels of crude oil and we also went after the oil barons.
"We are also able to identify countries where the product was being sold off; we went to such countries and told them that they should stop buying stolen crude oil from Nigeria, and that if they wanted the product, they should legitimately buy through the Nigerian government."
Ribadu noted that lawlessness and impunity were fuelling the crime as culprits do not fear punishment .
"Oil theft in Nigeria is sophisticated. Someone will do whatever he likes and nothing happens to him; basically that is what is happening in the country. Also, there is collusion between the illegal oil marketers and those that should react against them; they are not doing it.
"The oil companies were said to be seriously benefiting from that. I believe that the oil companies were involved a lot and thereby indirectly stealing and those that are suffering it are the ordinary people in the country," he added.
Meanwhile, there is no let-up yet in the open quarrel between a former Inspector General of Police, and Ribadu.
A statement released by the media aide to Ribadu, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, said that Okiro lied when he reacted to the statement of the former EFCC boss that an ex-governor of Delta State, James Ibori, currently serving a jail term in London, facilitated his (Okiro) becoming an IGP.
The statement reads in part: "If Okiro is now denying this in public, there is no way he can deny this open secret to a number of people including an influential governor from the north-central then, and a couple of other people who helped facilitate his selection by Ibori."
"It was this same shameless method of desperate lobbying that Okiro, a chronic political jobber and sycophant of the first order would use in getting subsequent appointments as Chief Security Officer to the PDP national chairman and later, regrettably, as the chairman of the Police Service Commission."
According to Abdulaziz, Okiro lied when he said Ribadu had the ambition to become an IGP.
"The assertion by Okiro that Ribadu wanted to be the IGP further underlines the former IGP as a perennial peddler of falsehood. The truth is Nuhu Ribadu's focus then was consolidating on his modest efforts at the EFCC, especially at a time when he was working on high-profile cases, including that of Okiro's godfather, James Ibori.
"We therefore challenge Okiro to name those people he called Ribadu's friends that narrated the fictitious story of Ribadu's interest in becoming the IGP to him."
The spokesman for Ribadu also lampooned Okiro for denying that there was never assassination attempt on the former EFCC boss.
"The highest distortion in Okiro's statement, however, is his attempt to rewrite the well-known and widely documented assassination attempts on the former EFCC chairman, and Okiro's hands in it all.
" It is ridiculous that Okiro is now desperately trying to paint himself in another colour after all the schemings he orchestrated.
"It beats our imagination that Okiro would want a Nuhu Ribadu he was fighting to destroy to report those incidences to him. It would have been a case of having a culprit to be a judge in his own case.
"At the time, the trio of Micheal Aondoakaa, the former Attorney General of the Federation, Okiro and Mrs Farida Waziri, the former EFCc chairman, had created a hell out of the world for Ribadu. The only sensible thing to do was to avoid these characters and seek solace somewhere else. This notwithstanding, it is a blatant lie that Okiro telephoned Ribadu several times but that he did not answer his calls. "What Ribadu and other Nigerians easily recall was an elated Okiro rushing to address the press to deny something he knew nothing about. The bullet-riddled car Ribadu drove during that unfortunate life threatening incident is still there.
" If Okiro or any other person would want a further proof."
Abdulazis also pointed out that Okiro goofed when he said that Ribadu's security was not withdrawn.
Ribadu, who stated this yesterday in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said that the oil theft at 5 percent was conservative.
He described oil theft as the biggest problem confronting the country
"because it is not just taking the crude oil out and thereby denying
the country revenue, it is also about destroying the environment because
the state of crude oil theft is about breaking the pipe, interfering
the entire process of bringing out the crude oil and invariably causes a
lot of damages."According to Ribadu, oil theft results from insurgent activities, political and corporate corruption and fundamental failure of leadership.
"Nigeria is going through difficulties, experiencing lawlessness and the citizens do what they like in the country. We have been led in total incompetence, inefficiency, close to total failure of institutions, including the law enforcement agencies, the military and so on," he said.
He expressed surprising that Nigeria was suffering this menace, when it is not too difficult to control it.
According to him, "When I was the chairman of the EFCC, we are able to identify those that were doing it. We also took several people to justice, seized the stolen goods and millions of barrels of crude oil and we also went after the oil barons.
"We are also able to identify countries where the product was being sold off; we went to such countries and told them that they should stop buying stolen crude oil from Nigeria, and that if they wanted the product, they should legitimately buy through the Nigerian government."
Ribadu noted that lawlessness and impunity were fuelling the crime as culprits do not fear punishment .
"Oil theft in Nigeria is sophisticated. Someone will do whatever he likes and nothing happens to him; basically that is what is happening in the country. Also, there is collusion between the illegal oil marketers and those that should react against them; they are not doing it.
"The oil companies were said to be seriously benefiting from that. I believe that the oil companies were involved a lot and thereby indirectly stealing and those that are suffering it are the ordinary people in the country," he added.
Meanwhile, there is no let-up yet in the open quarrel between a former Inspector General of Police, and Ribadu.
A statement released by the media aide to Ribadu, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, said that Okiro lied when he reacted to the statement of the former EFCC boss that an ex-governor of Delta State, James Ibori, currently serving a jail term in London, facilitated his (Okiro) becoming an IGP.
The statement reads in part: "If Okiro is now denying this in public, there is no way he can deny this open secret to a number of people including an influential governor from the north-central then, and a couple of other people who helped facilitate his selection by Ibori."
"It was this same shameless method of desperate lobbying that Okiro, a chronic political jobber and sycophant of the first order would use in getting subsequent appointments as Chief Security Officer to the PDP national chairman and later, regrettably, as the chairman of the Police Service Commission."
According to Abdulaziz, Okiro lied when he said Ribadu had the ambition to become an IGP.
"The assertion by Okiro that Ribadu wanted to be the IGP further underlines the former IGP as a perennial peddler of falsehood. The truth is Nuhu Ribadu's focus then was consolidating on his modest efforts at the EFCC, especially at a time when he was working on high-profile cases, including that of Okiro's godfather, James Ibori.
"We therefore challenge Okiro to name those people he called Ribadu's friends that narrated the fictitious story of Ribadu's interest in becoming the IGP to him."
The spokesman for Ribadu also lampooned Okiro for denying that there was never assassination attempt on the former EFCC boss.
"The highest distortion in Okiro's statement, however, is his attempt to rewrite the well-known and widely documented assassination attempts on the former EFCC chairman, and Okiro's hands in it all.
" It is ridiculous that Okiro is now desperately trying to paint himself in another colour after all the schemings he orchestrated.
"It beats our imagination that Okiro would want a Nuhu Ribadu he was fighting to destroy to report those incidences to him. It would have been a case of having a culprit to be a judge in his own case.
"At the time, the trio of Micheal Aondoakaa, the former Attorney General of the Federation, Okiro and Mrs Farida Waziri, the former EFCc chairman, had created a hell out of the world for Ribadu. The only sensible thing to do was to avoid these characters and seek solace somewhere else. This notwithstanding, it is a blatant lie that Okiro telephoned Ribadu several times but that he did not answer his calls. "What Ribadu and other Nigerians easily recall was an elated Okiro rushing to address the press to deny something he knew nothing about. The bullet-riddled car Ribadu drove during that unfortunate life threatening incident is still there.
" If Okiro or any other person would want a further proof."
Abdulazis also pointed out that Okiro goofed when he said that Ribadu's security was not withdrawn.
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