Tell us those who steal crude oil with ships – Elumelu to FG

Tony Elumelu, a Nigerian economist, says the federal government and its security agents should be able to point out citizens who steal crude oil from the country.

The philanthropist, who made the statement in an interview with the Financial Times on Friday, said the government should make public who is sailing ships through its territorial waters.

According to him, oil theft contributes to the divestment of international oil companies in Nigeria.

He said he had discovered first-hand why international oil companies partially pulled out of onshore assets after criminal gangs began stealing crude oil from its pipelines.

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Speaking to the Financial Times, Elumelu sounded optimistic but also said oil thieves were still stealing 18 percent of the crude from his field.

“42,000 barrels of crude are pumped daily. Theft still costs about 18 percent of production,” he said.

Responding to who was behind the theft, he replied: “This is oil theft, we are not talking about stealing a bottle of coke that you can put in your pocket. The government should know, they should tell us. Look at America – Donald Trump was shot and very soon they knew the background of who shot him.

“Our security services should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring ships into our territorial waters and we don’t know?”