…As Joint Taskforce Visit Pipeline Theft Site in FCT
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) through the Industry Wide Security Architecture (IWSA) and Nigerian Pipelines & Storage Company (NPSC) in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) Special Prosecution Team (SPT), the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, the Nigerian Army and other security stakeholders, on Tuesday conducted a joint inspection of a vandalized section of the NPSC crude oil pipeline at Pai Community in Kwali Area Council of the FCT, Abuja.
The high-level inspection was undertaken to assess the extent of damage to critical national asset, advance ongoing investigations, and reinforce coordinated efforts to combat economic sabotage and safeguard Nigeria’s strategic energy infrastructure.
The visit followed the arrest of three suspected pipeline vandals in the Piri and Pai communities through a joint operation involving the ONSA Special Prosecution Team, the FCT Police Command, and the NNPC Ltd’s Industry-Wide Security Architecture (IWSA).
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented by the Chief Interface Officer, Dahiru Sani-Gwarzo, speaking during the inspection, described the arrests as a significant breakthrough in the ongoing campaign against criminal elements targeting the nation’s oil and gas assets.
The suspects apprehended were only a small part of a larger criminal network responsible for attacks on critical energy infrastructure across the country, he noted.
“The industry-wide security architecture has been actively pursuing criminal elements involved in the sabotage of our energy infrastructure. Those apprehended are only a small part of a larger network. Our focus remains on identifying and bringing to justice the masterminds and sponsors behind these criminal activities,” he said.
According to him, pipeline vandalism not only causes substantial economic losses but also undermines national development, energy security and investor confidence. NNPC Ltd. would continue to work closely with security agencies to ensure that perpetrators and their sponsors are brought to justice, he explained.
The Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company, a subsidiary of NNPC Ltd., manages more than 5,000 kilometres of crude oil and petroleum products pipelines across the country. However, pipeline theft has continued to pose a major challenge to its operations.
NNPC disclosed that since 2024, organised criminal groups, often posing as members of an “NNPC/Federal Government Taskforce for Recovery of Abandoned Pipelines,” have collaborated with local accomplices to excavate and steal pipeline sections.
Statistics released by the company showed that in 2025 alone, 19 cases of pipeline theft were recorded, resulting in the loss of approximately nine kilometres of pipeline infrastructure along the Enugu-Makurdi-Yola corridor and between Piri and Izom on the Warri-Kaduna pipeline route.
The company further revealed that five cases have already been reported in 2026 at Piri-Kwali and Gwagwalada along the Warri-Kaduna crude oil pipeline segment, as well as at Badanga along the Jos-Gombe pipeline corridor.
Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, said the operation underscored the determination of security agencies to safeguard critical national infrastructure and dismantle criminal syndicates involved in pipeline vandalism.
The suspects were arrested following extensive intelligence gathering, surveillance and targeted patrol operations initiated after reports of interference with sections of the pipeline network. Ongoing investigations had already yielded valuable information concerning the sponsors and buyers of the stolen pipeline materials, Sanusi disclosed.
He assured that all individuals connected to the criminal activities would be identified, arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Director of Energy Security at ONSA, Mr. Goodluck Ebele, urged Nigerians to support security agencies by providing timely and credible information that could help prevent pipeline vandalism and other acts of economic sabotage, he said.
He stressed that public vigilance and cooperation remain essential to protecting national assets and enhancing the country’s energy security.
Representing the Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. J.O. Ajongbo reaffirmed the military’s commitment to collaborating with NNPC Ltd. and other security agencies to secure oil and gas facilities nationwide.
Similarly, the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Hon. Sesi Whingan, pledged continued legislative backing for stronger measures aimed at deterring pipeline vandalism through improved legal and regulatory frameworks.
The stakeholders collectively emphasized that protecting Nigeria’s energy infrastructure remains a national priority, warning that those involved in vandalism, theft and sabotage of oil facilities would face the full weight of the law.
