Abuja, Nigeria — Nigerian lawmakers are investigating allegations of $2.4 billion in illegal sales of stolen oil to China.
The House of Representatives' ad-hoc committee on oil theft resumed its probe of the unofficial sales in 2015 of 48 million barrels of crude oil to China.
Lawmakers were tipped off about the deal by a whistleblower in July 2020. The whistleblower alleged that the stolen crude had been stored at several Chinese ports and later sold by Nigeria's national oil company, NNPC Ltd., officials said.
NNPC has called the allegation false. Chinese authorities have not responded.
This week, Nigeria's finance minister, attorney general and other top cabinet members did not appear for interrogation on the matter at a hearing. The committee said that could delay the investigation.
Faith Nwadishi, executive director of the Center for Transparency Advocacy, said, "Forty-eight million barrels is almost equivalent to about 50 days of oil production. We don't really have strong structures and systems in place. It's really not the first time and I don't think it's the last time it's going to happen until we get our structures right. If the legislative arm invites a person and the person doesn't have a cogent reason not to appear, it's grand enough for the person's resignation."
The House committee also raised concerns about irregularities in the figures of crude oil sales between 2011 and 2015 and said it would investigate.
Crude oil accounts for more than 90% of Nigeria's revenue, and Nigerian authorities have been trying to stem oil theft for decades. Officials have said the country loses $700 million every month as a result of the thefts.
Last year, President Muhammadu Buhari said the trend was putting the country's economy in a precarious situation.
Emmanuel Afimia, head of an Abuja-based oil-and-gas consulting firm, said corruption is the reason oil theft has persisted in Nigeria.
"Corruption has been the main factor that has hindered the growth of the [oil] sector," Afimia said. "If the country is actually serious about stopping oil theft, corruption has to be completely eliminated. We have to address corruption from the highest offices of this country."
Last year, Nigerian authorities awarded a controversial contract to Tantita Security Services, an oil pipeline surveillance team headed by an ex-Niger Delta militia group, in an effort to address oil thefts.
