SENATE President, David Mark, has prescribed death penalty for oil thieves, saying the increasing rate of oil theft has continually been giving the country a bad name in the international circle. Mark said this on Wednesday, at the inauguration of the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), supervising the public hearing on the PIB.
Decrying the rate of illegal oil bunkering in the country, the Senate president said the PIB must ensure that the vice was reduced to the barest minimum level, alleging that rich and influential Nigerians were behind the illegal business.
“It seems we are having a bad name internationally because of the rate of oil theft in the country. Oil theft deserves capital punishment; the law must have a huge punishment on those that steal our oil to serve as a deterrent to other people who plan on stealing our oil.
“If it is the public wish, I will endorse a death penalty for oil thieves, if it will stop oil theft and bunkering. It is an unusual situation, so it deserves an unusual remedy and drastic punishment,” he said.
Speaking on the importance of the PIB, the Senate president said the Senate was taking it serious, noting that it was not a new bill, but was just being reviewed to meet with international best practices.
He also assured that the bill, at the end of the public hearing and following the recommendations thereof, would be in the best of all involved parties, the Nigerian public and the investors.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, in his welcome address, said the oil industry was yearning for and waiting patiently for the passage of the PIB.
He asked for the cooperation of Nigerians and especially experts and stakeholders in the oil sector, by coming up with useful suggestions and recommendations that would enhance the work of the committee and raised the standard of oil production in the country.
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