UNBRIDLED PILLAGE

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF OIL THEFT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The unbridled pillaging of Nigeria’s crude oil by a network of collaborators precipitates loss of $8 billion annually to oil theft. This paper examines the dynamics, intricate nexus, modus operandi and actors involved in oil theft. Government’s unwillingness to aggressively combat it poses serious threat to security and economy, and breeds a wider pattern of criminality. This inability indicates that syndicates enjoy state protection, confirming its intricate connection to the state’s political structures. The menace can be dismantled if government addresses the internal factors propitious to its outbreak and partners with the international community to suppress factors facilitating its persistence.