The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has revealed the rationale behind the recruitment of private security contractors in the fight against crude oil theft, expressing its support against the crime.

Mele Kyari, the NNPCL chairman, made this known yesterday at the 2022 Energy and Labour Summit of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in Abuja.

According to Kyari, the use of private security companies aids in the discovery of illegal oil points.

The government had recently announced its decision to entrust Tantita Security Services, a private firm which is run by a former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo, with the surveillance of Nigeria's pipelines. The decision had thrown up several questions and condemnations from many Nigerians.

Tompolo's company recently made a shocking discovery of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region has claimed that since the effort to stop oil theft on the waterways of Delta and Bayelsa states started, about 58 illegal oil points have been found.

The NNPC boss, Kyari, had claimed that without the connections of experts, many recent crude oil thefts would not have been possible.

"We don't mince words about the fact that the involvement of private security companies in this journey has helped us. Many of the discoveries we make today could not have been done without local knowledge, access to the people, supporting the local people who are used by some of the criminals to perpetrate some of these things for very little things that they give them. Now, they are involved and supporting us in the recovery of these assets and we are very proud of their intervention," Kyari said.