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Nigeria Still Losing 400,000 Barrels Of Crude Oil Daily – NSA

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The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, says the country is still losing 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to local and international thieves despite efforts to end the menace.

Ribadu confirmed this when he led a presidential delegation to inspect oil and gas facilities at Owaza in Abia and Odogwa in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers on Saturday.

He said the activities of oil thieves and pipeline vandals had impacted negatively on the nation’s economy and were partly responsible for the rising cost of living in the country.

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“It’s unfortunate that few individuals would steal our common resources, and in the process cause unbelievable loss to both the nation, communities and the people.

READ ALSO: Oil Theft: Burning Of Crude Oil Vessels Is An Environmental Hazard – NGO Cautions Military

“Nigeria has the capacity to produce 2 million barrels of crude daily, but we are currently producing less than 1.6 million barrels due to theft and vandalism of pipelines.

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“So, we are talking about 400,000 barrels of crude oil going to waste with few criminals and economic saboteurs not even getting much out of it,” he said.

Ribadu said the operators of artisanal refineries collect a small quantity of crude oil when they broke the pipelines while larger volumes of oil were spilled on the environment.

“The value of 400,000 barrels of oil today is about 4 million dollars, and every day, we lose this amount because of this irresponsible behaviour.

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“If you multiply 4 million dollars by 365 days (one year), you will see that it is a lot of money running into billions of dollars.

READ ALSO: Residents Of Oil-rich States Suffering Heavy Metal Poisoning — Seriake Dickson Raises Alarm

“Currently, the country is in desperate need of money as the Naira is continuously losing its value because we earn less money.

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“If we earn more money, it will not only help strengthen our currency but reflect in everything, including cost of living in the country,” he added.

The NSA said that the President Bola Tinubu administration was concerned about the development and was already taking actionable steps to address the matter.

He said huge investments made by the government in building infrastructures for the common good of all were being destroyed by few individuals, and in the process, destroying the environment.

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Ribadu called for a united front to tackle oil theft and end decades of attacks on the nation’s oil and gas infrastructures.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: NNPCL Intercepts Vessel With 800,000 Litres Of Stolen Crude Oil

“We are working hard with the security forces and those employed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to secure our facilities and end this madness called oil theft,” he said.

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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on the presidential delegation with the NSA were the Minister of Defence, Baduru Abubakar, and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa.

Others included the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and Minister of State (Oil), Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri.

The Minister of State (Gas), Petroleum Resources, Ekperipe Ekpo, and senior management officials of the NNPCL as well as other top security personnel were part of tbe team.
(NAN)

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Four Dead, Three Injured As Bus Collides With Truck In Ogun

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A teenager and three others died in a crash that happened when a bus hit a breakdown truck at Alagbon along Owode-Atan Road in Ogun State.

Three other persons also sustained varying degrees of injuries from the accident.

The crash involved a Sinotruck with no registration number and a white Suzuki minibus with registration Number KTU 874 YJ.

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Spokesperson of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed this to newsmen in a statement on Tuesday.

READ ALSO:Fresh Boat Accident Kills 29 In Niger

Akinbiyi said that 11 people (two males and nine females) were involved in the accident, while three people (one male and two females) sustained injuries. He said four people (one male, two female adults and one teenager) died.

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He blamed the crash on both drivers, saying the bus driver wouldn’t have rammed into the cement-loaded breakdown truck if the truck driver had posted a caution sign on the road.

The TRACE Image Maker said that the injured victims had been taken to General Hospital, Idi-Iroki, by operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) before the arrival of its officers.

He said that the accident vehicles had been towed away and the traffic initially affected had been restored.

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READ ALSO:Early Morning Accident Claims Eight Lives, Injures Eight Others In Lagos

In other news, The Guardian reported that a pregnant woman was killed in a fatal auto crash along the Sagamu Expressway corridor in Ogun State. The accident, which left several others injured, involved a payloader, a Toyota Camry with registration number AAB-248 MK, and a commercial tricycle marked JGB-643 VD.

Spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed the incident to newsmen. He said the crash occurred when the driver of the Toyota Camry lost control of the vehicle, veered off his lane, and rammed into a moving tricycle, killing the pregnant woman instantly.

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According to Akinbiyi, the payloader operator, the Camry driver, and other male passengers sustained varying degrees of injuries. He added that the injured victims were taken to nearby hospitals in Sagamu by passers-by, while the body of the deceased was deposited at an undisclosed morgue.

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Edo Gives Ex-deputy Gov One Week To Return State Assets

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The Edo State Government has issued a one-week ultimatum to a former deputy governor of the, Godwin Omobayo, to immediately return all government property and assets still in his possession.

Fred Itua, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo in a statement on Tuesday said all assets acquired or used by Omobayo in the course of public service remain state property and must be returned upon leaving office.

The statement read, “The government has observed with dismay that several official items, including vehicles, documents, and other state-owned assets assigned to Mr Omobayo during his brief and illegitimate tenure, are yet to be surrendered to the appropriate authorities, despite multiple formal reminders.

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“The continued retention of such property constitutes a clear breach of public trust and unlawful possession of state assets.

READ ALSO:CSOs, Academia, Impacted Communities Launch Climate Justice Campaign In Edo

“The Edo State Government reiterates that all assets acquired or utilised in the course of public service remain the property of the State and must be duly returned upon cessation of office.

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“The continued retention of such property by any individual constitutes a clear breach of public trust and an unlawful possession of state assets.

“Accordingly, Mr Omobayo is hereby given a period of seven days from the date of this release to comply fully by returning all government property under his custody to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government.”

READ ALSO:Okpebholo Warns Companies Against Fuelling Edo–Delta Boundary Dispute

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Itua noted that failure to comply within the stipulated period would compel the government to direct the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, to effect his arrest and ensure the immediate recovery of all state assets still in his possession through lawful means.

He added, “The Edo State Government remains committed to accountability, due process, and the protection of public property.

“No individual, regardless of former position or political affiliation, will be permitted to unlawfully appropriate or retain assets belonging to the people of Edo State.”

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Oke-Oroma Elders Accuse Edo-GIS Officials of Reviving Obaseki’s Controversial Coral City Project

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Elders of the Oke-Oroma community in Edo State, have raised concerns over alleged attempts by certain elements within the Edo State Geographic Information Service, Edo-GIS, to revive the outlawed Coral City template, a project initiated by former Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration.

They claimed that this clandestine move by these elements in EDOGIS is aimed at undermining and frustrating the progress made in affirming and redeeming Governor Monday Okpebholo’s earlier solemn promises to the people.

Recall that the Edo State Government in a press release dated October 8, 2025, warned land grabbers, encroachers and speculators to steer clear the land in Obagie community designed for Coral City by the immediate past government, after it was reportedly speculated that some people have encroached the said area.

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In a press statement jointly signed by the Head of the Community, Gaius Emokpae and the Secretary, Monday Omorogiuwa and made available to the newsmen yesterday, the duo disclosed that Okpebholo has been working round the clock to address the issues surrounding the Oke-Oroma land disputed area, but faced with these elements who are hiding under government to escalate tension.

READ ALSO:Edo State Government Pays Last Respect To Late NSCDC Commandant

They revealed that in continuation of the former governor Obaseki’s manipulative tendencies, these elements have also reportedly established another new company named EDO NEW TOWNS DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD to replace the CORAL CITY with the directors purely their political associates, Blood relatives and friends.

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The gang up, according to Emokpae, is between Obaseki’s loyalists and these elements in EDOGIS who are attempting to silence governor Okpebholo’s decision on the issue.

The statement partly reads, “After Governor Monday Okpebholo was inaugurated on November 12, 2024, he visited the community and made a solemn promise to return our village to us after carrying out their investigations.

“When we visited him in the office he told us that the government had revoked the C of C of the people the former governor sold to, notably the “Coral City”. He told us to go back home and take over our land and start development.

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READ ALSO:CSOs, Academia, Impacted Communities Launch Climate Justice Campaign In Edo

The pronouncement was greeted with a thunderous ovation. We are now in the process of completing the legal documentation to conclude this milestone transaction

“But some powerful people in EDO-GIS are hiding under the umbrella of governance to re-invent the ex-governor Obaseki’s template specifically the Coral City to reverse the decision of Governor Monday Okpebholo.”

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While lamenting their moves, the duo emphasized that despite the governor’s clear intention on revoking the Coral City to allow the owners go back to their lands, the bank account used for the operations of the Coral City is still functional where some financial transactions were recently carried out between some people invited to purchase some piece of plots and EDO-GIS Officials.

Despite existing as an ancestral home date back 15th century ago, Oke Oroma Community had been immersed in communal boundary disputes with neighbouring villages including Amagba, and Obazagbon villages in Oredo Local Government, and Obagie N” vbuosa in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area since June 2012, four months after the death of Pa Joseph Emokpae, the last Odionwere of the community.

READ ALSO:Police Alert Public On Anonymous Bomb Threats In Edo

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Since then the crisis escalated, and not less than 25 people have been killed with property worth billions of Naira by the former governor Obaseki’s backed loyalists and suspected land grabbers across the neighboring communities.

They expressed worry that if allowed to continue, this could lead to renewed tensions and violence in the area.

The elders, in the statement, are urging individuals seeking personal benefits to desist and work with the governor whose magnanimity is well known from the beginning of his administration as he takes necessary steps to prevent any further escalation of the situation and ensure the continued peace and stability of the community.

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Several calls put across to the Media Director of Edo-GIS by INFO DAILY for a response on the allegations, did not go through, as the network response: “The number you dial is switched off.”

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