A Nigerian court on Tuesday gave five sailors from the Philippines and four from Bangladesh a choice between jail and paying a hefty fine after convicting them of oil smuggling.
The suspects were arrested in March in Lagos Lagoon aboard the MT Asteris, which prosecutors said was used to illegally store 3,423 tonnes of crude oil.
They were each convicted of four counts of illegally storing crude oil.
Each count carries five years in prison but the sentences run concurrently, meaning the nine face a maximum of five years jail.
Alternatively they can pay a fine of 20 million naira ($100,000 dollars).
The government has taken ownership of the vessel.
Africa’s biggest oil producer loses billions of dollars each year from the theft of crude from sabotaged pipelines and illegal refining of oil products.
The oil is sold on the lucrative black market, depriving the continent’s most populous state of an estimated $6 billion a year in lost revenue.
Convictions for oil smuggling are common but in most cases the offenders get away with a fine Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Is this sentence good enough for a crude oil theft of that magnitude?
ReplyDeleteIf I were the judge, I would have given each of them 10yrs term with a choice of 1m dollars each.
ReplyDeleteSerious offence requires serious punishment
They will end up not paying nothing n not jail wn their boss will come out, na today, my country, God help us
ReplyDeleteThey will end up not paying nor jailed when their big boss will come out, my country, na today, God help us.
ReplyDeleteMUST THE JUDGE GAVE THEM AN OPTION OF FINE? THEY ALL MUST GO TO JAIL AS A GOOD EXAMPLE TO CRUDE OIL CULPRITS. IF NIGERIANS WERE INVOLVED IN THEIR COUNTRY WITH CRIMINAL ACTIVITY I ASSURE YOU, THEY WILL ALL GO TO JAIL!
ReplyDelete