Chairman, Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, King Bubaraye Dakolo (Agada IV), has absolved Niger Delta indigenes of involvement in crude oil theft.
According to him, the people that are labelled oil thieves are mere victims, saying the real oil thieves are very important personalities living in big cities.
The monarch, who spoke during the 10th year anniversary of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), yesterday, in Abuja, said: “Oil thieves should be clearly defined. In the last 70 years, the oil and gas industry has been peddling a particular narrative, deceiving the whole world that victims of oil theft are the thieves, but that is not true.
“If you don’t have education, accommodation, or job, you try and get some crude oil, and because of that, you are lebelled oil an thief; that is not true. The real oil thieves do not stay in mosquito infested homes, swampy or flood prone areas. They stay in highbrow areas in Abuja, Lagos, New York City and other good places in the world.”
“They have yacht, private jets, golf courses and refineries of their own across the world. So, the world should not be deceived; in fact, there are governments involved in oil theft, because they depend on cheap stolen crude oil to boost their economies.”
The monarch further alleged that most of the stolen crude oil ends up in the western world, including India, Philadelphia, Britain, among others places. He added that most of the stolen crude is taken to those countries through ocean liners. According to him, if these huge vessels are bringing crude oil into their domain, then they cannot feign innocence.
King Dakolo lamented that oil theft is the major cause of environmental pollution in the Niger Delta, saying that since the discovery of oil in the region, hazardous gasses are being flared into the atmosphere, which affect their health.
He said that the clamour for environmental justice is a call to ensure that oil companies behave well and ensure that what is not done in other countries are not done here in Nigeria.
