By Unue Emeka,
The Senate’s ad-hoc committee investigating Nigeria’s persistent crude oil theft ramped up its inquiry on Tuesday with a critical oversight visit to the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ned Nwoko, said the engagement marked a major step toward producing a final Senate report that is “factual, defensible, and grounded in verifiable data.” He revealed that the committee has already submitted three interim reports, each backed by extensive analysis, expert consultations—both local and international—and credible documentation, exposing years of massive revenue leakages in the oil sector.
Nwoko stressed that the probe is not limited to historical losses but is equally focused on Nigeria’s current upstream realities. “While the historical challenges are significant, it is equally important to understand what is happening now within NNPC’s upstream operations,” he said.
During the meeting with NNPC executives, the committee demanded clarity on past operational failures that enabled large-scale crude theft and revenue loss, while also reviewing ongoing reforms aimed at stabilising production and securing vital pipeline infrastructure.
Nwoko stated that the committee aims to reconcile documented past losses with current operational data to assess the effectiveness of existing mitigation measures.
Findings from this latest round of engagements, he added, will form a crucial component of the committee’s final report to the Senate.
