You hear a lot about the theft of oil from Nigeria. The problem is so bad that it is estimated that oil thieves make off with more than $1 million per week in oil. You never hear about the thieves being caught – until now!

Six oil thieves nabbed by the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta have been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). As reported in www.tribune.com.ng.

The captain of the barge with the illegal oil was John Edema.

Two of out of the four suspects aboard MV SOA, were led by the EFCC and Navy to open the barges to scoop and display the illegal product suspected to have been bought serially from local oil refineries.

The fact remains there are many unrepentant criminals in the Niger Delta creeks and high. With the economic situation in Nigeria dire, many are turning to theft.

The leader of the suspects, Edema, showed no remorse and gladly showed off his haul of more than 100,000 liters of refined oil.

Edema, who told journalists that he was not sure if the AGO was locally refined or not when he was asked to scoop some from the barge, however, argued that the papers covering the product were genuine and verifiable. He claims that his salary was only N45,000 per month.

I hope Edema and his crew are prosecuted to the full-extent of the law. A preventative ante-theft program and some time in the brig are definitely in order.