…as EFCC solicit special court for oil theft
By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft has constituted a sub-committee to separately investigate the possibility of Molecular Power System (MPS) oil theft detection system.
Chairman of the Committee, Rep.Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, stated this at resumed hearing of the committee on Wednesday in Abuja.
Represented by Rep Sada Soli, he said it has become necessary to consider the continuation or not with the system.
According to him, it has become necessary due to the zero recovery recorded so far from the multi million contract. Especially as the contract which has a retainer fee of $5 million has nothing to show for it.
The Committee also engaged the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on how to eradicate the incidence of oil theft in Nigeria.
Rep. Soli questioned if despite the plethora of oil theft detection systems employed by the relevant stakeholders, it was necessary to retain the revenue draining MPS detection system which has not recorded any success.
In a separate engagement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, the anti-graft agency made a strong case for the establishment of specialized courts to try cases of those apprehended for oil theft and related crimes to facilitate recoveries.