Prof. Mike Ozekhome SAN
Leading constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), Prof. Mike Ozekhome has called on the Federal Government to immediately enact a law legalizing the operations of illegal refineries and follow them up with technology support for their upgrade to sustainable ones.
He argued that such a move will not only save the Niger Delta environment, but create jobs in the industry and raise petroleum product supplies.
Ozekhome made the call while speaking as a panelist at one of the breakout sessions of the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association, (NBA) Annual General Conference at the National Stadium in Abuja.
He also made a case for serious legal reform to put stiffer punishment for crude oil theft to act as a deterrent to others.
The constitutional lawyer also blamed traditional rulers, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) amongst others for the increase in crude oil in Nigeria.
The senior lawyer along with other panelists were discussing the topic, “The Impact of Maritime Security Threats on the Nigerian Economy: Nigerian Navy Perspective”.
He said that the Nigerian Navy had the mandate of protecting the territorial waters in the country with sophisticated equipment to carry out the responsibility.
“If you have a security man in your house and thieves invade your house, you will definitely blame the security man.
“The Navy is saddled with the responsibility of protecting our territorial waters of crude oil theft and so it cannot say it is free from theft of crude oil in the country.
“How can the Navy say that they do not know how a huge sea vessel will disappear from the high sea as if it is a spirit?
“These vessels that carry this stolen crude are escorted by security personnel, who are these personnel; is it not the Navy that responsibility,” Ozekhome asked.
He also accused top government officials of crude oil theft, saying that, the issue was like a situation where a non-state actor became more powerful than the state itself.
He called on the navy to name those behind the crude oil theft so that they could be shamed and prosecuted.
He also said it was imperative that Nigerian youths were given employment and empowerment as part of efforts to keep them legally engaged and free from crime.
” How can you arrest a vessel with crude worth billions of naira and only impose a fine of N500,000,” he wondered.
