Headline
How Govt Officials Facilitated $1.2bn Crude Oil, Gas Theft – Source
Published
3 years agoon
By
Editor
Security sources have disclosed that the real looting of Nigeria’s crude oil and its by-products is neither through illegal bunkering, refining nor pipeline vandalism, but via highly placed government officials-enabled undocumented shipments of large scale hydro-carbon products worth over $1.2 billion to Europe and the Americas.
The sources noted that while all eyes are on the fight against illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism, top government officials of agencies expected to perform supervisory and due diligence roles in the sale and shipment’s of the nation’s vast hydrocarbon resources are trading away the resources to cartels and reaping the benefits into private pockets.
The sources said Europe and the Americas were favourite destinations because the products, which are sold at giveaway prices, are paid for without delay.
Noting that the looting of the nation’s commonwealth has been going on for years, the sources said that the Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas were being shipped out of the country in millions of metric tonnes without records and documentation.
Some of the destination countries where these hydro-carbons are shipped to with the knowledge and protection of top government officials, according to the sources, include Mexico, Brazil, United States and Argentina.
READ ALSO: Why Soaring Diesel Prices Will Affect Fuel Hike – Experts
Incidentally, the source said, the NLNG whose duty it is to supervise the operations of such shipments, is a joint venture organisation of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation with 49% shareholding; Shell Gas B.V., 25.6%; Total Energies Gaz & Electricité Holdings, 15%, and Eni International N.A. N.V. S.àr.l with 10.4%.
The transatlantic looting route
A source noted that NLNG has a total production capacity of 22mtpa of LNG and five million tons per annum of Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) from its 6-train plant complex and boasts of 16 long-term Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with 10 buyers and controls about 6 per cent of global LNG trade.
The source said, “In five years, from 2009 to 2013, over $1 billion worth of hydrocarbon products were exported using backdoors from Nigeria to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States.”
Emphasizing that the illegal exportation is still ongoing with the backing of top officials of government, the source said gave a breakdown of some of the under-the-table transactions, mentioning specific vessels’ names and their IMO numbers.
Escobar Port, Bahia and Blanca Port are the usual destinations of the products in Argentina.
“The total value of the products shipped to Argentina in 2013 by three vessels was $52.1 million. 354,018 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon products estimated at over $177 million were illegally exported to Brazil without trace and documentation.”
The transaction to cartels in Brazil showed that “one of the vessels shipped 62,608 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon products valued at $31.3 million; another shipped 60,000 metric tonnes of product valued at $30 million; while a third shipped 55,000 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon products valued at $27.5 million.
“Two other vessels shipped over 120,000 metric tonnes worth more than $60 million Brazil ports.
“A total of 354,018 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon products valued at $177 million was shipped to Brazil.
“Over $34 million worth of hydrocarbon products were illegally exported to the USA in six trips using six different vessels for transportation.”
Cove Port, Lake Charles Port and Sabine Pass Port are some of the popular US ports.
READ ALSO: Scarcity Hits Major Cities, Fuel Sells N180/Litre As NNPC Cuts Supplies
One of the destinations with the highest quantity of backdoor export, according to the source, is Mexico.
“Nigeria LNG products worth $981.5 million were exported to Mexico in 33 trips using different vessels to wade away any form of suspicion.
“Officials supervised the exportation of the products to Mexico with no official paperwork prepared for the export.
“Of the 28 seaports in Mexico, the vessels used for exporting products from Nigeria all docked Altamira ports.”
The source revealed that in total, over $1.2 billion worth of hydrocarbon products have been illegally exported through back and covered channels from Nigeria to Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and USA in the last five years.
VANGUARD
You may like
Buhari Was Angel In Human Flesh – Bisi Akande
Buhari Never Politicised Judiciary – Ex-Bayelsa Gov
“May May The South Of Former President Bola…,” Uzodinma Trends After Public Gaffe
Nigerians Spent Over $3.6bn Annually On Foreign Healthcare Under Buhari
Inside £3,500 Per day Elite London Clinic Where Buhari Died
Why UNIMAID Was Renamed After Buhari – Education Ministry
Headline
42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense
Published
7 hours agoon
August 24, 2025By
Editor
Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.
Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.
READ ALSO:Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians
The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.
“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.
“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.
READ ALSO:Russia Claims More Ukraine Land As Hopes For Summit Fade
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.
The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
AFP

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.
Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.
Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.
READ ALSO:Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians
“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.
Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.
Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.
READ ALSO:US Ambassador To Paris Slams Macron Over Rising Antisemitism
The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.
“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.
AFP
Headline
Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians
Published
8 hours agoon
August 24, 2025By
Editor
Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.
Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.
They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.
“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.
READ ALSO:Russia Returns Bodies Of 1,000 Ukrainian Soldiers
“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.
Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.
Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.
READ ALSO:Top Russian General Seriously Wounded In Ukraine – Officials
Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.
Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.
“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.
AFP
- 42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense
- Ekiti 2026: APC Aspirant Slams Oyebanji For Threatening Party Leaders
- Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders
- Colleagues, Fans Pour Tributes As Funke Akindele Marks
- Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians
- AC Milan Scrap Victor Boniface Transfer Over Failed Medical Tests
- Youths Uncover Man Chained By Father For Five Years In Anambra
- UNIZIK Suspends Doctors, Nurses, Security Personnel Over 100-level Student’s Death
- Israeli Strikes In Yemen’s Capital Kill Two, Say Rebels
- US Ambassador To Paris Slams Macron Over Rising Antisemitism
Trending
- Headline5 days ago
UK Bans Sanex Advert For Calling Black Skin ‘Problematic’, White Skin ‘Superior’
- News5 days ago
Nigerians Call For Mandatory DNA Tests At Birth
- News5 days ago
Yoruba Elders Wade In As Alaafin, Ooni Feud Escalates
- Headline5 days ago
Why I Plotted President Trump’s Assassination – 50-yr-old Woman
- Metro3 days ago
Customs Seize N905m Rolls Royce, Other Contrabands In Ogun
- Headline4 days ago
JUST IN: Uganda Reaches Agreement With US To Take Migrants
- Headline4 days ago
Viral TV Judge Frank Caprio Is Dead
- News3 days ago
BREAKING: FG, State, Local Governments Share N2.001trn July Revenue
- Headline5 days ago
Trump Slams US Museums For Focus On ‘How Bad Slavery Was’
- News3 days ago
JUST IN: Okpebholo Nominates Another 5 Persons As Commissioner-designates