The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) recently entered into agreement to form a Joint Committee to check smuggling of petroleum products across the borders. In a statement in Abuja, NNPC said that smuggling of petroleum products through the borders was causing serious loss to the nation and had been subverting government’s efforts to ensure adequate supply of petroleum products in the country.

It is unfortunate that, while the NNPC has not relented in its efforts to flood the market with petroleum products, the activities of unscrupulous marketers remain a major concern as diversion and smuggling continue unabated. Available records show that there is an upsurge in smuggling of petroleum products through Nigeria’s borders in recent months, considering the high price of petrol in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries.

This calls for stiffer punitive measures against marketers found diverting and smuggling petroleum products. Hence, Customs Officials should intensify surveillance at the flash points to check the activities of the smugglers. It is equally necessary that the Joint Committee should leave no stone unturned to ensure that smugglers of petroleum products are stopped in their tracks.

On the other hand, the surge in smuggling can be attributed to the activities of unlicensed filling stations. So far, there are only 1,900 licensed filling stations and the unlicensed ones are having a field day with impunity and high level of extortion.  Sadly, Nigeria looses up to 600,000 litres of petrol everyday through smuggling. Investigations by the NNPC reveal that up to 30 percent of the fuel meant for local consumption is lost to smuggling.

Today, various state governments have set up task forces to stem the tide of this destructive practice. Unfortunately, even the soldiers that accompany the consignments are not able to arrest the situation since whole tanker load of fuel still disappear. As government seeks to stop smuggling of petrol, the smugglers are discovering new ways of circumventing the law. For instance, petrol is sold to the smugglers at odd times and the jerry cans of petrol are covered with cloths or garri to evade task force officials.

On the other hand, the activities of black marketers have remotely affected the suppliers of fuel of many filling stations across the country. Long queues were common sights, with motorists leaving their vehicles on queue for days. This despicable situation made trafficking of petroleum products very lucrative in Nigeria.

Many people have left their means of livelihood to join this illicit trade because petrol has become liquid gold that yield dividends similar to drug trafficking. Most parts of urban centres have been dotted with black markets where the business is daily transacted in broad daylight, without fear of arrest by security operatives.

It is disheartening that significant volume of petroleum products are diverted daily from depots by corrupt officials who connive with marketers and transport owners. They either hoard in underground tanks to create artificial scarcity or smuggle to neighbouring countries to earn higher profits.

A former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, once said that at least 30 percent of fuel allocation meant for different parts of the country were diverted daily to neighbouring countries like Cameroon, Chad, Togo and Benin Republic. Unfortunately, despite efforts by the NNPC to curb such sharp practices by publicizing the daily truck outs from the depot, it is not enough to deter the saboteurs who work with insiders to undermine the system.

Petroleum products diversion and smuggling to neighbouring countries constitute serious threat to the nation’s economic stability and national energy security. This is inimical to the efficient supply and distribution of the products nationwide.

Thus, to curb the menace, the Joint Committee of the NNPC, Customs and the DPR should be up and doing in their new task. Inter-Agency collaboration against hoarding, diversion, smuggling and illegal price like in ex-depot or retail pump price has become increasingly necessary in order to safeguard Nigeria’s Energy Security.

The Joint Committee should deal ruthlessly with any unlicensed filling station along the borderline smuggling petroleum products. Such stations should be closed down. Equally, monitoring the licensed filling stations at the borderline will go a long way towards curbing the persistent smuggling of petroleum products from the nation