By Towncriernews
In order to protect Nigeria crude oil and gas assets, stakeholders in the security sector on Friday in Abuja, have advocated the need for inter-agency collaboration.
Discussants at the two-day 13th National Security Seminar, organised by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College, stated this during the seminar which commenced on Thursday with the theme “Curbing Oil Theft and Illegal Crude Oil Refining in Nigeria.”
Speaking on the lecture “Protection of Critical Oil and Gas Infrastructure in Nigeria: Issues and challenges”, the discussants were unanimous in calling for joint action and collaboration of security agencies in protecting crude oil and gas resources and other national assets.
According to one of he discussants, Air Vice Marshall (AVM) Sayo Olatunde, there is need for collaboration and jointness in operations to effectively safeguard the resources.
He also identified bad governance, abject poverty and unemployment as some of the root causes of attacks on the oil and gas assets in the country.
Another Discussants, from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr Kamoru Busari, said that community-based security outfits should be deployed in protecting oil assets because of their knowledge of the terrain.
Busari who said this would not only eliminate strife from local communities and vandalism of oil infrastructure, also recommended the use of technology to reduce person-to-person interface, and the utilisation of hydrocarbon fingerprinting in tracing the origin of crude oil products.
On his part, the Provost, CSRC of the Nigeria Defence College, Prof. A.O Ahmed, said poverty and hunger have contributed to the damages being recorded of oil and gas facilities.
He added that the degradation of the environment due to exploration activities and oil spills has deprived communities of access to their traditional methods of livelihood, which according to him, has led to hunger and drug abuse among youths in oil producing communities.
“There is therefore the need to tackle poverty and other factors if we are serious about protecting our crude oil and gas and other national assets,” he added.
Earlier, in the lecture delivered by Dr. Benito Eze, an Assistant Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the protection of oil and gas infrastructure was necessary, just as the safeguarding of communities from man-made and natural disasters.
He said government should deploy special equipment, and create forum to ensure unlimited cooperation with locals.
Eze also said there should be robust framework for arrests, investigation and prosecution, as well as coordination and synergy among security agencies.
He recommended collaboration among relevant formal and private security agencies, including the armed forces and intelligence services to stem crude oil theft.
According to him, there should also be improved relationship between oil producing communities and International Oil Companies to protect oil and gas assets in the country.