The state of Ondo, one of the nine oil states in the Niger Delta, is increasingly becoming a notorious operating field for a powerful crude oil syndicate. This syndicate is allegedly colluding with some security operatives, oil companies, and high-ranking officials to exploit the country.

The operations of the syndicate were discreet, concealed, and shielded around the wellheads, particularly between Oil Mining Lease, OML 103/110. Prior to the NNPCL boss's alarm, numerous thefts from jackets within the Ondo State coastal waters had occurred without any trace by security agents.

A prominent financier of the well-connected consortium is reportedly lobbying for a pipeline surveillance contract with the NNPCL, ostensibly to gain support for the oil mafia. Employees of certain oil companies, allegedly on the payroll of the group, are said to be the professionals who sabotage the wellheads by connecting illegal tapping points to the national crude oil pipelines.

The collective has been successful in their activities in the Ondo State axis due to the protection members receive from some members of the nation's security agencies.

The syndicate has gone into hiding since December 6 last year, when the operatives of a pipeline surveillance company, Tantita Security Services Nigeria, encountered a 77-meter-long motor tanker, MT VINNALARIS 1, LAGOS, already fastened to the wellhead with a loading hose. Tantita operatives, accompanied by the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, approached the coast of Awoye riverine community in Ilaje Local Government Area, Ondo, but faced resistance.

The National Security Adviser (NSA) and NNPCL urged TSSNL not to backpedal, conscious of the alleged game the Navy was playing. The TSSNL escalated the matter, citing collusion in "these illegalities," and highlighting the need for a clear-cut inquiry into the scandalous December 6 oil theft in Ondo State to prevent a re-occurrence.

As of now, there has been no public statement from the National Security Adviser, Minister of Defence, and the Chief of Naval Staff ordering a clear-cut inquiry into the scandalous December 6 oil theft scandal in Ondo State. This lack of action suggests that the issue may be gathering time, after which it could be swept under the carpet, as is habitual in the country.

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