Following a three-day detention at the Nigerian Army’s 6th Amphibious Division in Rivers State, ‘Fisayo Soyombo, founder and editor-in-chief of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, expressed his deep distrust for Nigeria’s public institutions and security agencies.
Soyombo was detained while investigating oil bunkering in Rivers State and the possible involvement of the Nigerian Army and other security agencies. In his interview with Arise Television, he said he did not think illegal oil bunkering would end soon.
“How can you grill me at the 6th Division, yet the illegal bunkerers are out there boasting to me about everything they’re doing?” Soyombo questioned.
“Illegal oil bunkering cannot stop in this country; I can tell you that for free. Some senior army officers say President Bola Tinubu is serious about ending bunkering, but it won’t work because these criminals have collaborators within security agencies.”
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WIKE ACCUSED THE SAME DIVISION IN 2019
This is not the first time the 6th Division has been linked to oil theft and colluding with pipeline vandals. In 2019, Nyesom Wike, then-Governor of Rivers State, accused Jamil Sarham, the division’s General Officer Commanding (GOC) at the time, of running an oil theft operation in the state.
Wike made this statement when speculations about Sarham’s appointment as the Chief of Army Staff were high.
“The GOC has his own team now doing oil bunkering for him because he wants to be Chief of Army Staff,” Wike claimed. “If you give him that position, what kind of security would we have in this country?”
Wike also accused Sarham of sabotaging the state’s security by leaking details of security meetings to criminals.
He said, “The GOC is the one leaking information to oil bunkerers, and he’s also working to destabilise the state’s security architecture.”
Wike also pointed to Sarham’s alleged interference in the 2019 Rivers governorship election, claiming that Sarham had compromised the elections in favour of some interests.
Sarham would dismiss Wike’s allegations about two days later. In a report published by Daily Post, the army commander said that Wike was after him because he refused a bribe from the ex-governor.
“My refusal to be bought over and the rejection of the hefty offer is the genesis of Wike’s hatred and vociferous criticisms of me. Although, the Nigerian Army does not wish to take issues with the Rivers State Governor, yet it is important to strongly state that the allegations are false and figment of Governor Wike’s imagination. It is a deliberate effort to tarnish the towering image of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, and the GOC, 6 Division, Nigerian Army,” Sarham said.
In November of the same year, Sarham took over as the 29th Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
OIL THEFT IS EXPENSIVE
Oil theft continues to bleed Nigeria’s economy dry. In 2024, the country failed to meet its oil production target of 1.78 million barrels per day. The consequence of this is the government’s inability to finance its budgetary promises.
This in turn contributed to Nigeria’s already bad debt profile. According to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria loses about $4 million daily to oil theft.
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The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) also reported that the country lost an estimated N16.25 trillion to oil theft between 2009 and 2020.
With an ambitious production benchmark of 2.06 million barrels per day set for 2025–2027 in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), failing to curb oil theft could lead to an even greater budget deficit.
The post FLASHBACK: In 2019, Wike Accused GOC of Army’s 6 Div of Stealing Crude Oil appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.