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•Troubled oil industry: Military top brass
under scrutiny
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Troubled oil industry: Military top brass under scrutiny

•As UK, Nigeria seal military pact •Aim to crack down on militancy, oil theft •Industry records $2.4b loss in 6mths •500,000 barrels stolen per day

By OLUTAYO OLUBI

THE top echelons of the Nigeria Armed Forces have come under serious suspicion as there are fears that they may be behind the spate of problems plaguing the oil industry which are the unabated activities of the militants and series of oil thefts. To check the twin menace, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has accepted the offer of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, (UK) Gordon Brown to allow the country's former colonial ruler to train security forces in the Niger-Delta, the country's main oil producing region, in an effort to stabilise oil markets by tackling a multi-billion dollar criminal racket.

The agreement which was reached during the former's official visit to the UK entails the establishment of a maritime training centre for forces operating in the Niger Delta. Brown said it would form part of a crackdown on “lawlessness and corruption” in the energy rich region and make oil installations less vulnerable to looting.

An insurrection in the Niger Delta has reduced Nigerian oil output by about a quarter and concerns at deteriorating security have contributed to soaring world energy prices. Brown said production could be increased by more than 1million barrels a day in the region if a long-term peace settlement could be reached. According to Brown, “The price of oil requires us to look round the world where sources of production can be found. One of the areas where we can make the greatest progress most quickly is the Niger Delta.'' Reports indicated that the training package may include financial support or a commitment of British armed forces. One government official said it would involve “military experts providing military advice”.

Brown had earlier before Yar'Adua's visit expressed corcern at the spate of violence and destruction in the area saying, “These are criminal acts... What we're looking at is how we can help ensure there is law and order in what is a very dangerous area.” Brown said UK and Nigeria aim to stop oil theft
His offer has however received a mixed response in Nigeria. One Nigerian official said that while support from Britain in patrolling international waters offshore could be helpful, any suggestion of British military assistance inside Nigeria would be counter-productive.

Powerful figures in the government and military who are involved in the oil theft could undermine any foreign-backed counter-insurgency strategy by painting it as a threat to Nigerian sovereignty.
Some Nigerian officials and politicians believe that Britain could be of most help if it threw its diplomatic weight behind efforts to curtail the international trade in stolen Nigerian oil.

Patrick Dele Cole, a former international affairs adviser to former Olusegun Obasanjo, informed that on a bad day more than 500,000 barrels of oil are stolen. An international cartel has emerged, he says, trading the crude in parts of Africa, east Europe and Asia.

“In exchange for the oil there are now arms coming in, and in exchange for these arms insurrection is being fuelled; and so you have a vicious cycle,” Cole says.

A heavyweight politician from the Niger Delta he has gone public with a plan to end the crisis that has caught the attention of policymakers. He proposes a tracking system to halt the trade in stolen oil and the use of recovered proceeds to fund security and development in the delta.

Without a parallel development strategy that shows real commitment to solving a legacy of neglect in the area, he insists, no amount of troops will ease the crisis. Nigeria's armed forces are themselves compromised by officials profiting from the lucrative trade in stolen oil, he adds, and it may be necessary to hire private security assistance.

Yar'Adua, reports confirmed, is under growing pressure to take military action in his own part of the country, the predominately Muslim north, where there is growing alarm at the extent to which the federal government is losing control of the oil-producing region in the south. Members of the Arewa consultative forum, a gathering of northern leaders, have called for tough action to crush the militants.
Meanwhile, oil industry executives have applauded the Joint Military Task Force (JTF's) renewed offensive against illegal oil bunkering, demanding that the JTF should be resolute in dealing with perpetrators of oil theft.

A top official of Shell said that the arrest of the crude oil thieves was good provided it is not a one off thing. "If some people are arrested today and no further arrest is made for a long time while the stealing of crude oil continues, this particular effort will be in futility," the official who did not wish to be named said. "Those who steal the crude are doing the economy no good and until the government and the security agencies take serious stand against this, Nigeria's economy would continue to be hampered and the militancy would go on unabated as that is the source of the strength of the criminals in the Niger Delta.", the source added.

In addition, the stakeholders said JTF should come clean on allegations of complicity in the controversy surrounding the multi-million dollar oil theft business in Nigeria.

The stakeholders called for the military task force to purge itself of elements within its ranks alleged to be encouraging illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta, where Nigeria loses 190,000 barrels per day of crude, representing 10 percent of the country's 1.9 million barrels per day daily out to theft. Over $2.4 billion has been lost to the oil thieves in the last six months. Part of the proceeds is used to fund criminal activities in the region.