Addressing crude oil theft in Bayelsa State: Human security challenges and intervention strategies

Abstract

Crude oil theft has become one of the gravest threats to Nigeria’s economic stability and human security, particularly in the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State, often described as the epicenter of Nigeria’s oil wealth, paradoxically suffers some of the worst consequences of this illicit activity. Beyond the staggering revenue losses to the nation, crude oil theft devastates local communities through environmental degradation, loss of livelihoods, insecurity, and deepening poverty. These dynamics raise critical questions about how systemic theft of natural resources translates into everyday human insecurity. It was against this background that this study engaged Relative Deprivation Theory to interrogate human security challenges and intervention strategies surrounding crude oil theft in Bayelsa State. The research was conducted through desk review from literatures obtained from official reports of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Official Statements from NNPC, non-serial publications and conferences cited by other references on the subject matter. These were used to generate secondary data on the pattern of crude oil theft between 2016 - 2020, quantity stolen, the cost and benefit of crude oil theft on human security in Bayelsa state. The study revealed while no particular pattern of crude oil theft exists in Bayelsa State, study observed that geographic, socio-political, collusion, economic factors, and opportunities available were responsible for pattern of crude oil theft and its implication in Bayelsa State. Based on these findings, the study concluded that crude oil theft have no particular pattern rather geographic, socio-political, economic and opportunity available are some of the factors responsible for the pattern of crude oil theft. The study recommended that the use of technology should be adopted to monitor crude oil pipelines in Bayelsa State; relationship between multi-national oil companies (MNOC) and host communities should be more cordial; special signature finger printing technologies should be used to identify crude oil from their origin, and that crude oil production should be metered from the point of production to the point of sales.