Nigeria’s Senate says about $303 billion from stolen crude oil transactions remains unaccounted for, according to an interim report by its ad hoc committee on crude oil theft chaired by Senator Ned Nwoko.
According to Vanguard Nigeria reporting, the Senate has disclosed that about $303 billion in proceeds from stolen crude oil transactions, both domestic and international, remain unaccounted for.
This was contained in an interim report submitted by Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North), Chairman of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft, which revealed that forensic consultants identified missing sums of $22 billion, $81 billion, and $200 billion in separate reviews.
The committee recommended enforcing international crude measurement standards at production and export sites and urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to adopt modern technology for tracking oil output. It also proposed using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for surveillance, creating a Maritime Trust Fund to support infrastructure and safety, and establishing a special court to prosecute oil thieves.
Debating the report, several senators questioned recovery authority and demanded a list of implicated firms.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the committee’s work, noting that while the National Assembly cannot recover funds, it would consider the final report’s recommendations after further investigation.