The House of Representatives Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft has proposed the creation of a specialised court and stronger penalties for crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and related offences, as lawmakers push for sweeping legal reforms aimed at curbing economic sabotage in Nigeria's oil and gas industry.
The proposals were presented after a stakeholders' meeting in Abuja involving the committee, security agencies and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), where participants reviewed the country's existing legal framework for combating crude oil theft and agreed that significant legislative changes are needed to improve enforcement and prosecution.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, said consultations with stakeholders showed broad agreement that many of the laws currently used to prosecute crude oil theft are outdated and no longer suited to the sophistication of modern oil-related crimes.
According to him, while the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provides the regulatory foundation for the petroleum sector, it was not designed to address the criminal justice issues surrounding crude oil theft and related offences.
Doguwa explained that several of the laws still relied upon by the courts date back to the military era, including decrees and regulations that no longer reflect current realities within the global petroleum industry.
He argued that unless Nigeria updates its legal framework, courts will continue relying on obsolete legislation when handling serious criminal cases involving the oil and gas sector.
The lawmaker stressed that the proposed reforms would not alter the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act but would instead complement the existing regulatory framework by strengthening the country's criminal justice response to crude oil theft.
He said the committee would work closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other relevant institutions to develop legislation capable of addressing the persistent challenge, noting that crude oil theft continues to undermine national revenue, discourage investment and prevent Nigeria from meeting its crude oil production targets.
Nigeria loses billions of naira annually to crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining, activities that have continued to reduce production, weaken government earnings and threaten energy security despite successive efforts involving military operations, surveillance contracts and inter-agency collaboration.
Doguwa also criticised the absence of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) at the meeting, describing the agency's failure to attend or send representatives as disappointing given its central role in regulating upstream petroleum activities.
He disclosed that the committee had directed its Clerk to formally invite the commission to appear before lawmakers to explain its absence and participate in future deliberations.
As part of the proposed legal reforms, the committee renewed its recommendation for a dedicated court to handle crude oil theft cases, arguing that the conventional judicial process often delays prosecution and weakens deterrence.
According to Doguwa, lengthy court proceedings frequently allow offenders to evade timely justice, making a specialised court necessary to ensure faster trials and more effective punishment.
Also speaking, the Director of Energy Security at the Office of the National Security Adviser, Goodluck Ilajufi, who represented the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, urged the National Assembly to strengthen existing penalties for crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
Ilajufi said security agencies invest enormous public resources in investigating and prosecuting offenders, only for many convictions to attract what he described as insignificant penalties that fail to discourage future crimes.
He called for amendments to relevant provisions of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, particularly sections dealing with petroleum infrastructure sabotage and petroleum product adulteration, to ensure punishments better reflect the seriousness of such offences.
The Assistant Commandant General (Operations) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), David Idowu, also backed the proposal for a specialised court, saying quicker prosecution and tougher sanctions would improve accountability and serve as a stronger deterrent.
Recalling his experience as a former State Commandant, Idowu said he had witnessed cases where punishments imposed on convicted offenders failed to match the gravity of their crimes, leaving enforcement officers discouraged despite the resources committed to investigations.
A member of the committee, Hon. Cyril Hart, advocated stricter oversight of oil block operators, arguing that companies holding licences without developing their assets within the approved timeframe should equally be regarded as economic saboteurs because of the revenue losses such inactivity imposes on the country.
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 agreeing that stronger legislation, faster prosecution and closer collaboration among security and regulatory agencies remain critical to reducing crude oil theft and protecting Nigeria's petroleum industry.