Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, the Chief of Naval Staff has indicted International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria of sponsoring crude oil theft.

Jibrin, who made the accusation on Wednesday during a meeting of top management of the Navy and the Managing Directors/Chief Executive Officers of the IOCs in Abuja, said the Navy cannot pretend about the involvement of the oil companies in bunkering.

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He revealed that it took him seven and a half months to call the first meeting between the Navy and the firms after his appointment to brainstorm dire issues concerning the oil sector, especially oil theft and illegal bunkering.

Jibrin revealed that he deliberately requested all CEOs to attend the meeting in person and not representative because the issues to be discussed were very worrisome, but lamented that some of the CEOs declined the invitation. He accused some of the oil companies of willingly abandoning the manifolds of their oil wells open for years without conscious efforts to close them despite fact that only experts had the capacity to reopen closed manifolds.

The naval boss warned that the agency would arrest any executives of the IOCs who leave the manifolds of their wells open for years without closing them.

Jibrin, who also stated that he would prosecute any naval officer found wanting in illegal bunkering in line with the laws guiding the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

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He stated that the Navy would go beyond accusing the firms to mentioning names of those suspected to be involved in the theft of the nation’s resources, adding that government was taking the issue of oil theft seriously because of the loss of revenue and the inimical effects of oil theft on the environment.

The Navy boss called on the oil firms to partner security agencies to find lasting solution to the illicit activity of crude oil theft in the country.

Speaking also at the meeting, the Chairman, Oil Producer Trading Services, Ayobami Olubiyi, revealed that the firms have also taken steps to check the threat of crude oil theft in the country.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Navy is not just concentrating alone on securing the country’s waterways as it would be recalled that on August 8, 2014, the navy was reported to have commenced sensitisation of its officers and ratings in Bayelsa State, South South Nigeria about the deadly Ebola virus.