A forensic audit commissioned by the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Oil Theft has uncovered massive financial discrepancies amounting to over $303 billion in unaccounted crude oil proceeds linked to Nigeria’s crude sales and the now-defunct Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) programme of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
The report, presented by Senator Ned Munir Nwoko, revealed widespread diversion of crude proceeds, including Tax Oil, Royalty Oil, and Profit Oil, between 2017 and 2022. It found that between 2017 and 2021 alone, Nigeria lost $22 billion through sale differentials, mismatches, and unremitted funds.
In 2017, 15 oil marketers lifted 71.88 million barrels of domestic crude valued at $3.95 billion, with about 27 per cent ($1.09 billion) unaccounted for. That same year, crude meant for the Federation as Tax Oil worth $1.23 billion saw 68 per cent ($844 million) diverted. The trend worsened in subsequent years; by 2019, 16 marketers lifted $6.78 billion worth of crude, of which $3.03 billion (44.7%) was allegedly stolen.
The audit also found that between January and May 2022, 57 of 125 vessels under the DSDP scheme diverted crude worth $4.49 billion, while another $696 million in Tax Oil proceeds between February and June 2022 went missing.
Additionally, the review uncovered a shortfall of $81 billion between NNPCL and DPR crude receipts from 2016–2017 compared with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remittances. Ongoing international investigations in the UK, US, and Canada may reveal another $200 billion in unaccounted proceeds from 2015 to date.
The report also exposed over ten secret crude oil accounts, in naira and dollars, opened in Nigeria and abroad, outside official government channels.
Consultants to the committee, drawing on intelligence from 16 Niger Delta firms, attributed the large-scale theft to poor inter-agency coordination, outdated monitoring systems, and weak surveillance synergy.
To address these lapses, the committee recommended that the Federal Government:
- Engage verified recovery consultants to trace and retrieve stolen crude proceeds.
- Establish a special court for oil theft cases.
- Reinstate the Weights and Measures Department for accurate metering.
- Fully implement the Host Communities Development Trust Fund (HCDTF) under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Senator Nwoko said the findings highlight an urgent need for coordinated national and international recovery efforts, stressing that “these billions must be traced and recovered for the benefit of the country.”
