FACT CHECK: Is Nigeria losing $50 million to oil theft every week as Facebook users claim?

Claiming:Nigeria loses $50 million to oil theft every week.

The indictment: There is no reliable data to support these claims.

Full Text:

A Facebook user claims that Nigeria is losing $50 million to oil theft every week. The social media user made the claim in response to a new loan from the Nigerian government.

Ripples Nigeria has reported that in a bid to strengthen the ongoing power sector reforms, the federal government has requested a $50 million loan from the World Bank to support state governments in the installation of trial solar power plants and infrastructure upgrades.

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Efforts to combat the threat of pipeline vandalism and oil theft have become a top priority for relevant government agencies. In January 2024, the DPR formed a committee to study the issue and also seek cooperation with the military and other security agencies to combat oil theft and vandalism that have caused major losses to the country’s oil sector.

Verification:

Nigeria is losing most of its oil to vandalism and theft, according to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

In June 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) reported that Nigeria recorded 400 cases of oil theft in one week.

Additionally, at the opening ceremony of the 2024 NEITI board meeting/retreat in Lagos, NEITI Executive Secretary, Ogbonnaya Orji reportedly said Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of oil worth $46.16 billion over a 12-year period, adding that the country lost $1.84 billion worth of petroleum products from its refineries over a nine-year period.

“Figures contained in our audit from 2009 to 2020 show that Nigeria’s losses to crude oil theft over a 12-year period amounted to 619.7 million barrels worth $46.16 billion or N16.25 trillion. Similarly, between 2009 and 2018, the country also lost 4.2 billion litres of petroleum products from its refineries worth $1.84 billion,” he said.

Conclusion:

Based on the latest data from NEITI, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that Nigeria loses $50 million to oil theft every week.

By Quadri Yahya

FACT-CHECK: Is Nigeria losing $50 million to oil theft every week as claimed by Facebook users? appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.