The Federal Government may lose some of the 134 ships currently detained at the Lagos, Port Harcourt and Warri Naval bases for oil theft and economic crimes as their conditions have reportedly deteriorated due to the long time they have been held and exposed to the elements.
They were accused of dealing in 810, 573 metric tonnes of petroleum products without the appropriate licence.
“The vessels are taking up jetty space and anchorage area. You should consider releasing the vessels to the owners on bond while cases are going on in court to decongest the facilities,’’ he advised. “The vessels named MT Good Success, MV PSV Derby and MV Thames were allowed to sink despite several warnings from the Navy on the need to evacuate the petroleum products in the vessels.’’
“These ships will cost billions but I don’t have a figure. Some have been forfeited permanently and the EFCC has appointed some auctioneers to assess their values. I believe that some of them would be sold soon. There was a brand new ship that was seized in 2020. I think the crew reached a plea bargain with the EFCC or something but if you see it now, it has rusted,’’ he explained.
Another economist, Akpan Ekpo, called for the swift prosecution of the shipowners to serve as deterrents to others, adding that abandoning the vessels would not solve the current situation. A legal practitioner, Daniel Makodo, fingered corruption for the delay in prosecuting the shipowners, noting that some of the suspected oil thieves often bribed their way out of criminal trials.
“It is not a good thing as there is nowhere in the world where these things are done. So, I think there should be an encouragement in the judiciary to speed up the process.”
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