Fake FG task force stole 9km of pipelines – NNPC

Stakeholders from the NNPC Ltd's Industry Wide Security Architecture, Nigerian Pipelines & Storage Company, Office of the National Security Adviser, FCT Police Command, the Nigerian Army and other security stakeholders, conducting a joint inspection of a vandalized section of the NPSC crude oil pipeline at Pai Community in Kwali Area Council of the FCT, in Abuja, on Tuesday. CREDIT: NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has uncovered a disturbing trend in the country’s worsening pipeline vandalism crisis, revealing that well-equipped criminal syndicates are disguising themselves as members of a purported Federal Government task force to steal critical oil infrastructure. The company disclosed that 24 cases of vandalism had been recorded along sections of the Warri-Kaduna crude oil pipeline corridor since 2025, with about nine kilometres of pipeline already stolen by suspected vandals. The revelation came as the NNPC Ltd, through its Industry-Wide Security Architecture and its subsidiary, the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company, conducted a joint inspection of a vandalised section of pipeline at Pai Community in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory. The inspection, carried out alongside the Office of the National Security Adviser Special Prosecution Team, the FCT Police Command, the Nigerian Army and other security stakeholders, followed the arrest of three suspected pipeline vandals in the Piri and Pai communities. A statement issued on Thursday by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr Andy Odeh, said the inspection was aimed at assessing the extent of damage to the critical national asset, advancing ongoing investigations and reinforcing efforts to combat economic sabotage. The statement read, “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited through the Industry Wide Security Architecture and Nigerian Pipelines & Storage Company in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser Special Prosecution Team, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, the Nigerian Army and other security stakeholders, on Tuesday conducted a joint inspection of a vandalised section of the NPSC crude oil pipeline at Pai Community in Kwali Area Council of the FCT, Abuja. “The high-level inspection was undertaken to assess the extent of damage to critical national assets, advance ongoing investigations, and reinforce coordinated efforts to combat economic sabotage and safeguard Nigeria’s strategic energy infrastructure. “The visit followed the arrest of three suspected pipeline vandals in the Piri and Pai c