Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Abubakar Badaru, has revealed why crude oil theft is yet to be checkmated in the Niger Delta region.

According to Badaru, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons is the main reason activities of oil thieves, illegal crude oil refiners, and kidnappers persist in the Niger Delta region.

Badaru made these remarks during his address at the 13th National Security Seminar 2024 in Abuja, organized by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College.

The seminar aims to address crucial National Security issues and promote cooperation among stakeholders. Under the theme “Curbing oil theft and illegal crude oil Refining in Nigeria,” Badaru underscored the urgency of taking decisive actions to combat these crimes and restore peace to affected communities.

“We must continue to broaden the use of appropriate technology in warfare to enhance our situational awareness and execution. These are essential to ensuring that life in the Niger Delta, especially the host communities, return to normalcy,” he said.

In his remark earlier, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, said the survival of any country depends largely on its ability to confront any security threat.

The CDS, who was represented by Maj.-Gen. Emeka Onumajuru, Chief of Training and Operations, noted that in recent times, the global security environment has become more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, requiring more resilience and a dynamic approach to addressing it.

He added that the security challenges Nigeria had dealt with over the years have negatively impacted the social, economic and other issues of citizens.

According to him, these challenges include terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, transnational crimes and other social vices.