The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bashir Ojulari, has warned that international and continental criminal syndicates are exploiting security gaps to steal crude oil across Africa.

Ojulari made the remarks at the opening of the Africa Chiefs of Defence Staff Conference in Abuja on Monday, stressing that crude theft is not merely a localised crime but a transnational challenge requiring joint security efforts across the continent.

“Crude theft and its attendant illegal activities involve international syndicates that exploit weaknesses in national and continental security structures,” Ojulari told an audience of defence chiefs from across Africa.

While acknowledging progress made in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta, Ojulari said pipeline vandalism and crude theft had significantly declined due to the intervention of security and intelligence agencies.

“Security is a key pillar of the energy business. Today, I can report that crude receipts at our pipelines and terminals, which once hovered between 20% and 30%, are now close to 100% thanks to the efforts of security forces,” he said.

He urged African nations to use platforms such as the Abuja conference to strengthen strategic cooperation in combating energy-related crimes.

Dignitaries at the event included United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed; Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing President Bola Tinubu; National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu; Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa; ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray; African Union Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Youssouf; former UN Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari; and Federal Inland Revenue Service Chairman Zacch Adedeji.