Nigeria Jails Nine Oil Thieves For 90 Years Each

ABUJA Oct 25 (Reuters) - Seven Nigerians and two Ghanaians have each been sentenced to 90 years in prison for oil theft and illegal refining, an organised underground industry that costs Africa's largest oil exporter hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Nigeria's oil production capacity of more than 2 million barrels per day is curbed by thieves, who tap pipelines that pass through the thousands of kilometres of winding creeks and waterways in the Niger Delta region.

The crude is often processed in makeshift refineries in the creeks before being sold as oil products. Bunkering - the theft of industrial quantities of oil - is a big business in Nigeria that funds criminal gangs and fuels corruption.

A judge in Delta state sentenced each of the suspects to 10 years in prison on each of nine charges against them.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said on Tuesday it had "arraigned the accused for conspiracy and illegal dealing in petroleum products", on June 29, 2010.

"Investigations also showed that the Ghanaians came into the country illegally and, therefore, had no permission to sail in the Nigerian waters with a vessel that had no clearance, waybill or any document empowering it to transport petroleum products," the commission's statement added.

Nigeria's military said on Monday it had detained a small oil tanker and arrested 46 people trying to ship illegally refined oil products. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Joe Brock)

http://af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFL5E7LP2DB20111025?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=nigeriaNews&rpc=401

Wonderful it should serve as a deterrent, my only problem is that they are not applying this law to politicians who steal millions - its double standards. 

mean while corrupt governors and senators are walking free sad country

ak47mann:

mean while corrupt governors and senators are walking free sad country

Very true :/

90 Years - isn't that a life sentence?

10 years concurrently maybe; but 10 years consecutively seems rather silly.

I question the judges competence.

Those sentences are really pushing me to anger. I could burn down that phucking judge.
This is the reason Nigeria never progresses. Can you imagine? Boys have learnt to refine crude and instead of bringing them into the fold, some judge locks them up?

It might take whatever it takes, but we must harness the technology these boys have been jailed for developing.

Bloody fuckry! 90 years indeed!

Beaf:

Those sentences are really pushing me to anger. I could burn down that phucking judge.
This is the reason Nigeria never progresses. Can you imagine? Boys have learnt to refine crude and instead of bringing them into the fold, some judge locks them up?

It might takes whatever it takes, but we must harness the technology these boys have been jailed for developing.

Bloody fuckry! 90 years indeed!

Very true those boys should be used to set up a legal refinery and fix those legal ones up THey can also teach other people who to refine, this will help the economy.

I think it's a mistake. the judge meant to say 90months.

hw old are they now?

[size=14pt]How is 10 years = to 90 years?[/size]

Kx:

[size=14pt]How is 10 years = to 90 years?[/size]

A judge in Delta state sentenced each of the suspects to 10 years in prison on[b] each of nine charges against them[/b].

Now that is how you deal with Oil Piracy - Now the Army Generals and Politicians can Bunker all the Oil they like without a drop in revenues,

While Lucky Igbinedion got a slap on the wrist.

The time for a revolution when these kleptomaniacs will be shot keeps drawing nearer.

the sentence runs concurrently thus, in plain english, it's a ten year sentence

Quote from: Kx on Today at 01:13:00 PM
How is 10 years = to 90 years?


A judge in Delta state sentenced each of the suspects to 10 years in prison on each of nine charges against them.

Because there are 9 of them. The key word is 9.

While our notorious politicians are living luxuriously in stolen wealth, what a shame for our country,

the judge would have easily said life imprisonment, wtf is 90yrs , at least 5yrs for each of the charges would still be 45yrs in prison.isn't that fair enough already?

wtf 90 years? 20 better [img]http://2.s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=E6E6E5/txt=E6E6E5/border=E6E6E5/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]
[img]http://s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=E6E6E5/txt=E6E6E5/border=E6E6E5/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]

As much as this will prove a deterrent to future offenders, it does not really serve the purpose. It is sad that in our country, the more you steal, the lighter the punishment, our politicians make a good case for this, whatever happened to the case of Dimeji Bankole abi has it been swept under the carpet as is our habit?

Oil bandits

They were free lancers,assuming they have politicians as their godfathers we will not hear anything

Can someone steal something that is found on his father's land??
All na game.
Go and make research on how Ibori, Alamiesiegha, Odili and co made their money.

Then we should be expecting a death sentence for the oil cabals, David Mark you know them

nor be 9ja we dey? the criminals go comot jail in not more than two weeks time

90 years is like saying you are going to die but after serving half of it in prison

I think the jail terms runs concurrently. . . Can never be consecutive, otherwise, they'd still be in jail in the afterlife.

And they continue to run their empire in prison! and worse still they'll be out in 3 or 2, maybe one month later after which their respective wives will not let undercover lawyers sleep at night OGA MUST GET OUT by any means neccessary

Btw how old are they? Haha, Naija is a huge joke.

Btw how old are they? Haha, Naija is a huge joke.

Beaf:

Those sentences are really pushing me to anger. I could burn down that phucking judge.
This is the reason Nigeria never progresses. Can you imagine? Boys have learnt to refine crude and instead of bringing them into the fold, some judge locks them up?

It might take whatever it takes, but we must harness the technology these boys have been jailed for developing.

Bloody fuckry! 90 years indeed!

Fuckin.g A!
You couldn't be any righter!

they got ten years each, not 90 years each hmm

whiteroses:

they got ten years each, not 90 years each hmm

Even 1 year each is too harsh. That judge should check his brains. He is probable suffering from mad cow disease. If they stole the oil, stealing is an offence and they should pay some kind of penalty. Community service sounds better to me. They only stole, there was no violence involved. Naija sha, dis people go hear am when the revolution starts.