Stakeholders from the NNPC Ltd’s Industry Wide Security Architecture (IWSA), Nigerian Pipelines & Storage Company (NPSC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), FCT Police Command, the Nigerian Army and other security stakeholders, conducting a joint inspection of a vandalized section of the NPSC crude oil pipeline at Pai Community in Kwali Area Council of the FCT, in Abuja, on Tuesday.
By Ahmed Aliyu, Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and key security agencies on Tuesday deepened their crackdown on energy infrastructure vandalism, inspecting a damaged crude oil pipeline at Pai Community in Kwali Area Council, Federal Capital Territory.
The joint inspection brought together the NNPC’s Industry Wide Security Architecture, Nigerian Pipelines & Storage Company, the Office of the National Security Adviser’s Special Prosecution Team, FCT Police Command, Nigerian Army, and other stakeholders.
The team assessed the vandalized section of the NPSC crude pipeline, advanced ongoing investigations, and reinforced plans to combat economic sabotage.
The visit follows the arrest of three suspected vandals in Piri and Pai communities during a joint operation by ONSA’s Special Prosecution Team, FCT Police, and NNPC’s IWSA. Officials say well-equipped criminals posing as “NNPC/Federal Government Taskforce for Recovery of Abandoned Pipelines” have been colluding with locals to dig out and steal pipelines.
NPSC, an NNPC subsidiary, owns over 5,000km of crude and petroleum products pipelines. Pipeline theft has surged since 2024. In 2025 alone, 19 cases were reported with about 9km of pipeline stolen along the Enugu-Makurdi-Yola and Piri–Izom corridors of the Warri–Kaduna line. In 2026, five cases have already been recorded at Piri-Kwali and Gwagwalada along the Warri–Kaduna crude line, and at Badanga on the Jos-Gombe corridor.
Speaking at the site, NNPC Group CEO Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented by Chief Interface Officer Dahiru Sani-Gwarzo, said the arrests were “an important step” in dismantling wider criminal networks. “Those apprehended are only a small part of a larger network. Our focus remains on identifying and bringing to justice the masterminds and sponsors,” he said. “Beyond economic losses, these acts undermine national development, energy security and investor confidence.”
FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, said the suspects were caught through intensive intelligence gathering and targeted patrols after reports of pipeline interference. He added that investigations have already produced “valuable leads” on sponsors and receivers of stolen materials, vowing that all connected persons would face prosecution.
ONSA Director of Energy Security, Mr. Goodluck Ebele, urged Nigerians to provide timely, credible information to security agencies, stressing that public vigilance is critical to protecting national assets.
Lt. Col. J.O. Ajongbo, representing the Nigerian Army, reaffirmed the military’s commitment to safeguarding oil and gas infrastructure nationwide.
Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Hon. Sesi Whingan, pledged legislative support to strengthen deterrence through tougher legal and regulatory measures.
