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By Correspondent in Abuja.
(C) Al Jazeera.
A prominent Ijaw sociocultural group, the Southern Ijaw Unity Forum, has called on the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, to urgently intensify security around critical oil and gas infrastructure in the Niger Delta, warning of growing threats from insider collaboration and illicit activities.
In a statement issued to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, the group’s Chairman, Timothy Amadiowei, alleged that widespread oil theft and sabotage continue to thrive under the guise of government-contracted pipeline surveillance operations.
He urged the Defence Headquarters to dismantle what he described as the “gunboat oil politics” fueling unrest and economic sabotage in the region.
Amadiowei said it was time for the military to rely more on independent intelligence gathering, rather than on “pipeline surveillance contractors whom he noted ,have become the biggest oil thieves in the region.”
“The current model has handed too much operational influence to surveillance contractors, many of whom now use military cover to carry out illegal crude oil loading at sites such as the Odioma sea mouth,” the statement said.
According to the group, these contractors not only divert attention from their illegal activities but also manipulate security forces into targeting whistleblowers and innocent community members.
The Forum cited a recent raid on Peremabiri Community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State by Nigerian Navy operatives on June 27, 2025, as an example of how surveillance-linked actors instigate security operations through false intelligence.
“The raid was a smokescreen.. It was a diversionary tactic to shield the illegal operations of certain surveillance contractors active in the Boma Clan axis,”Amadiowei stated.
The group accused these contractors of orchestrating crises, weaponizing military operations against perceived enemies, and creating divisions in local communities.
It cited a violent confrontation between two rival surveillance firms over control of a loading point, underscoring the breakdown of order within the security architecture around oil facilities.
“While they use the military to pursue small-time operators, they themselves load large vessels undisturbed. The military believe they are safeguarding national assets, but in reality, they’re enabling organized looting of crude oil,” the Forum alleged.
Calling on the CDS to review existing security protocols and root out collaborators within the system, the group emphasized that the current approach is not only ineffective but a threat to national security and regional peace.
“We are tired of these tactics. It is time the Defence Headquarters reclaims control of oil and gas security from private contractors whose operations only deepen the chaos,” the statement said.
Edited by Dada Ahmed
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