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Femi Falana, a prominent senior lawyer in Nigeria and human rights campaigner, has responded to the Navy’s destruction of ships carrying stolen crude oil.
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Falana responded to a comment attributed to the chief of the defense staff, Lucky Irabor, by claiming that official impunity has become ingrained in the nation.
The crime of oil theft has shown Nigeria to be a country where official impunity has been institutionalized by the government, aside from the sabotage of the national economy.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, made a humiliating defense of the criminal behavior by claiming that the criminal suspects’ quick demolition of the oil bunkering vessel was in accordance with “the rules of engagement.”
The General stated that the vessel was caught in the act, and security personnel then set the “instrument of operation” on fire, emphasizing that no investigation is necessary to carry out the action. “As if self-help has become part of the rules of engagement, the General said.
It is well knowledge that only the Federal High Court has the authority to impose the temporary or permanent confiscation of any vessel used to transport stolen crude oil.
As a result, he claimed, “the statement credited to General Irabor is a deliberate attempt to cover up the involvement of military personnel in the serious crime of oil theft because there is no provision of the rules of engagement that authorizes military personnel or security agents to set fire to or destroy vessels loaded with stolen crude.”
The destruction of a ship or vessel by military personnel is a major offense under service law that carries a life sentence without the possibility of a fine, Falana stated. The Chief of Defence Staff is aware of this. For the sake of clarity, the following is what Section 111 of the Armed Forces Act says:
“Arson – Any person subject to service law under this Act who willfully or maliciously sets fire to any mine or working, fitting, or appliance of a mine, or to any public building, dwelling house, office, or any other structure whatsoever, whether completed or not, occupied or not; or to any vessel, ship, aircraft, railway track or wagon, or vehicle or thing; is guilty of arson and subject to life imprisonment upon conviction by a court-martial.
“General Irabor should resign from his position to stop the sabotage of the ongoing activities meant to expose the perpetrators of oil theft in the Niger Delta region because of the seriousness of the offense that the military oligarchy is covering up.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, should not think twice to remove the General if he decides not to retire. After all, the President has lost faith in the military’s leadership by approving the use of non-state actors to perform the armed forces’ constitutionally mandated functions.
In addition, he said, “the President should direct the Chief of Army Staff to ensure the quick arrest of the military men who ignited the vessel in order to charge them with arson and associated offenses prior to a court-martial.
