NNPC, police pledge collaboration to curb attacks on oil, gas facilities

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have pledged to work more closely to tackle the incessant attacks on oil and gas facilities across the country.

The two agencies made this commitment on Wednesday when Maikanti Baru, group managing director of NNPC, visited the inspector general of police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, in Abuja, according to a statement from Garba Deen Mohammed, spokesman of the corporation.

According to the statement, Baru drew the attention of the police to the growing insecurity around oil and gas facilities with the latest being the attack on the Chevron gas pipeline in Delta State.

The GMD explained that the attacks on oil and gas facilities were taking a toll on the national budget with massive shortfalls in revenue as well as huge losses in petroleum products, environmental degradation, refineries shutdown and loss of lives.

He called on the police boss to deploy police personnel to all oil and gas facilities, adding that the corporation was ready to provide whatever support needed for enhanced security.

The IGP, on his part, said the police had enjoyed long-standing cooperation with NNPC and expressed optimism that such collaboration would continue.

He said the police was working on a number of strategies to build capacity for effective policing of the difficult terrain where some of the oil and gas facilities were located.