A super oil tanker on a mission to steal Nigeria’s crude oil early in August has rekindled national interest in illegal oil bunkering, which has led to massive revenue shortages that have significantly contributed to Nigeria’s present fiscal woes. The tanker, MT HEROIC IDUN, belonging to a Norwegian firm, entered Nigerian waters and headed for the Akpo Oil Field without any document or clearance from the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC). Curiously, the rogue ship, under the surveillance of the Nigerian Navy escaped, but was swiftly arrested in Equatorial Guinea with its 25 crew members on August 13 for sailing in the country without prior authorisation, an identifying flag, and fleeing from the Nigerian Navy as a result of suspicious activity.
Within the same period, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, led a delegation of Federal Government officials, which included the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, on…
