Nigeria is losing over 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily due to oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and illegal mining, according to Princess Benedicta Attoh, Chair of Etsako East Local Government, Edo State.

At the 4th anniversary of the Centre for Sustainable Development in Delta State, Attoh highlighted the severity of the situation, saying, “The daily oil theft in Nigeria was more than the total daily production of some oil-rich nations.”

She stressed that weak governance and poverty were driving the crisis: “The absence of basic infrastructure in the Niger Delta and other oil-producing areas has exacerbated the problem.”

Attoh called for stronger action, urging collaboration with oil communities and better law enforcement: “No outsider could protect the oil facilities in any community better than the members of such community.”She concluded, “Sustainable security in the extractive sectors is not just a government responsibility, it is a collective duty.”