For more than three months now, Nigerians have been held spell bound by the revelations contained in the oil subsidy probe report.

The cold calculations of the so-called power cabal, the sleaze, incompetence and sloppiness commonly cited as the bane of the management of the nation’s cash cow have been well captured.

Against the disdain of teeming Nigerians, the operators relentlessly unveiled the scam in the fuel subsidy at the House of Representatives where the leadership of the chambers have been widely commended for remaining focused.

But beyond the probe, so many Nigerians and experts are contending that the findings would eventually end up in the trash-can.

This is because the theory of crimes and punishment has failed to work ever since the country embraced democratic governance. The only time it works is when the offender fails to romance the powers that be.

History has shown that during the military era Nigerians were always apprehensive of any probe since the outcomes were often devastating and persons indicted in such probes were summarily dealt with.

A look at the report of the Faruk Lawan- led Subsidy Probe Committee released penultimate week did not only expose the undue manipulations that drained about N1.3 trillion from the national purse, it also revealed some lapses on the part of senior government officials saddled with the responsibility of managing the oil and gas resources of the country .

Indicted were 72 oil marketing firms, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

Others accused of poor monitoring were the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Akintola Williams and Co. and Olushola Adekanola and Co. The only body that earned commendation was the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The report also listed 17 marketers said not to have obtained forex but claimed to have imported petroleum products based on which they collected subsidy to the tune of N7 billion in 2010 and N55 billion in 2011.

About 20 marketers who were not registered with PPPRA got their allocations, while four marketers did not even apply for import, but got allocations from PPPRA. These and many more were revealed in the report.

There was also a case of the waste disposal firm that got N1billion subsidy in a country where greater percentage of Nigerians struggle daily to eke out a living.

According to Yemi Ogunsola, a public affairs analyst: “They are simply maggots. Unless Nigeria as a country and Nigerians move against these human maggots, it is bye to the country. It’s a battle that must not be lost.

“Over the years, we have created favourable conditions for maggots to grow and thrive. They are revered and pampered. Even “common thieves” are elected governors over millions of straight citizens.They get national honours and have streets and other structures named after them.”

Ogunsola, not surprised by the revelation from the probe, noted that if the system continued to favour the crooked, with time, the straight ones would give up in frustration and join the bandwagon.

“That is the most tragic part, many otherwise straight Nigerians, frustrated by the glaring impunity of the crooked ones give up and go crooked. These people are human maggots? Look again and think! They thrive best in the midst of decadence and social rot – just like the natural maggots,” he said.

Piqued by the sad tales that made the nation’s oil sector a curse rather than being a source of growth and development, the convener of Save Nigeria Group(SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare, and others had since served notice to the federal government of another round of mass protest in Lagos and other towns in the country following the House of Representatives’ committee report.

Professor Pat Utomi, a strong ally of the Save Nigeria Group said the culprits that depleted the country’s fortune must be brought to book, hinting that some concerned civil society groups had gone far in their preparation to prosecute some individuals and government agencies found culpable by the findings.

The SNG said that it had started dissecting the report, adding that another ‘Occupy Nigeria,’ was imminent if government failed to act swiftly in prosecuting the offenders.

Comrade Yinka Odumakin, a frontline human rights activist who described the probe report as a searing and an open book on the rape of the nation by the organisations, marketers, and parastatals indicted in the report urged the government to begin the process of prosecuting.

According to him: “This is a searing report. It’s an open book on the rape of a nation by mindless people. We expect that the federal government will want to treat the report as a family affair, but we (SNG) will ensure that this is the final nail on the coffin of corruption in Nigeria.

“If you recall, the slogan of Save Nigeria Group is ‘Kill Corruption Not Nigerians.’ And this is what this report is saying, if you don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigerians. In the report, in 2009, the Accountant-General released N999million 128 times in 24 hours.

“And as at that time, only 36 marketers were participants under the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF). How come they suddenly became 128? Does it mean that 128 fuel marketers collected the same amount of subsidy and they imported the same quantity of oil? It’s all fraud.

“I want the executive to be sanctioned for its budget rascality. The budget presented and approved by the legislature in 2011 on subsidy payment was N245 billion and they ended up spending N2.6 trillion. The president must be made to answer for extra budgetary spending.”

For the Executive Director, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice( ANEEJ), Rev. David Ugolor, the Faruk Lawan’s committee report has further confirmed the rot and mind boggling corruption in the country.

According to him: “It exposes the fact that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison Madueke, has been presiding over dishonest people and she has no option now than to take the path of honour.

“By now, it should be clear to President Goodluck Jonathan that he was misled on the issue of fuel subsidy removal on January 1. It means the people of Nigeria have triumphed over the negative forces in government. We expect Mr. President to do what is needful this time around and demonstrate to the whole world that he is truly committed to fighting corruption in the oil and gas sector.

“He should get his anti-graft agencies to prosecute all those linked with this monumental fraud that led to the crisis of confidence between Nigerians and his administration. He should be courageous enough to fire the petroleum minister so that Nigerians could be convinced that there are no sacred cows in his cabinet.”

To calm the nerves of Nigerians, President Jonathan, has promised Nigerians that he would act on the report accordingly and ensure that those indicted were not spared.

The president through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, assured he would act in the best interest of Nigerians.

He said: “Nigerians can be rest assured that President Goodluck Jonathan will act in the best interest of Nigerians in this matter. After the report is properly laid before the federal government, President Jonathan will not condone any wrongdoing and he will act in the best interest of all Nigerians.”