BY RITA OYIBOKA
Nigeria’s oil industry has never merely been an economic sector; it is the backbone of national survival. For decades, crude oil revenues have funded government budgets, stabilised foreign exchange earnings, and sustained public spending across every tier of governance. Yet, for just as long, the Niger Delta, the heart of that wealth, has been trapped in a cycle of sabotage, illegal bunkering, environmental destruction, and economic losses measured in billions of dollars annually.
Against this backdrop, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), awarded the pipeline surveillance contract to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited in August 2022 to curb crude oil theft and sabotage in the Niger Delta region.
However, recent allegations circulating on social media by Fejiro Oliver, targeting Tantita Security Services and its subcontractor, Zane Energy, have prompted the need for more clarity and setting the record straight.
To understand the significance of Tantita’s intervention, one must first appreciate how dire Nigeria’s oil theft crisis became before structured surveillance reforms were introduced.
The Niger Delta isn’t just geographically central to Nigeria’s oil output; it has historically been the fault line where boom meets bust. For decades, operational disruption from theft and vandalism pushed Nigeria into chronic production volatility.
At the height of pipeline vandalism and illegal refining activities, Nigeria’s crude production collapsed to historically low levels. Production fell to about 1.1 million barrels per day in September 2022, largely due to widespread theft and shutdowns of key trunk lines such as the Trans-Niger Pipeline and Nembe Creek Trunk Line.
Oil theft was not marginal criminality; it was industrial-scale economic sabotage. In some weeks, the NNPCL recorded over 200 separate theft incidents, including illegal connections, makeshift refineries, and pipeline vandalism across multiple Niger Delta communities.
The consequences were nothing short of catastrophic. Government revenues took a nosedive as billions in expected crude earnings evaporated almost overnight. Investors, sensing the instability, pulled back, hesitant to commit to a sector mired in uncertainty and sabotage. Major oil companies repeatedly declared force majeure, halting operations and signalling just how fragile production had become.
Faced with systemic failure, the Federal Government adopted a pragmatic approach: integrate local knowledge into national security architecture by engaging specialised surveillance contractors familiar with the terrain and community dynamics of the Niger Delta.
Thus, Tantita Security Services emerged within this policy framework. The results, according to multiple industry reports, have been measurable rather than theoretical.
Within months of expanded surveillance partnerships across security agencies, private security operators, and local community liaisons, Nigerian upstream crude production rebounded significantly, improving from historical lows toward the 1.7 million barrels per day range, according to regulatory data.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) later released figures showing crude oil losses due to theft and meter inaccuracies slashed to an average of 9,600 barrels per day by July 2025, the lowest in nearly 16 years. That’s nearly a 90 per cent reduction from the obscene levels of 2021.
Beyond national reports, reports from community assemblies, such as the Isoko National Youth Assembly in 2025, attribute an impressive 81 per cent reduction in pipeline vandalism in key operational zones to these measures, accentuating the tangible impact of Tantita’s community-focused and data-driven approach.
These are not minor margins. They are structural shifts, measurable, traceable trends that translate directly into retained revenue, enhanced fiscal inflows and increased foreign exchange receipts.
Put plainly, the data support the argument that structured surveillance, including private-sector participation, has helped reverse a downward spiral.
Another allegation attempts to link security contracts with unrelated oil licensing or prospecting licences. That claim collapses under simple regulatory scrutiny.
Upstream licenses, including Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs), are governed through statutory processes by the NUPRC under the Petroleum Industry Act. Those processes involve technical evaluation, financial vetting, compliance checks and tender protocols entirely separate from pipeline surveillance contracts. Conflating the two misunderstands both the law and operational reality.
Contract award to security firms doesn’t cause upstream license allocations; it’s an apples-and-oranges conflation. Tantita Security itself has said, “If there are concerns about due process, they must be pursued legally, not through social media narratives designed to provoke resentment.” Social media speculation shouldn’t be treated as due process in a $60 billion‑plus sector.
Central to recent allegations is the role of Zane Energy, described as a subcontractor operating under Tantita’s surveillance structure. In modern oil-and-gas security operations, subcontracting is not an anomaly; it is an operational necessity. Pipeline monitoring across thousands of kilometres requires layered deployment involving logistics firms, community liaison teams, and technical surveillance operators.
The contractors (Tantita Security) of Zane Energy have affirmed that, “It operates strictly as a subcontractor under Tantita’s surveillance structure. The company has carried out its duties professionally and effectively. There is no audit report, court judgment, or investigative finding linking Zane Energy to any financial misconduct.” Therefore, allegations made without documentary proof remain speculative and malicious.
Another clarification raised by stakeholders concerns the attempt to associate Fejiro Oliver’s publication with Sen Ovie Omo-Agege. Available information indicates Oliver is not an aide or official representative of the former Deputy Senate President. The insinuation of political backing, therefore, lacks foundation.
The official position of Tantita Security and Zane Energy is, “Oliver is not affiliated with Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, nor is he an aide or representative of the former Deputy Senate President. Attempts to associate his publication with political authority are misleading and false. He speaks solely for himself.”
This distinction matters because Nigeria’s oil politics often thrives on perceived alliances. Suggesting elite political endorsement can amplify misinformation and escalate tensions unnecessarily.
Stakeholders maintain that relations between Omo-Agege and Tantita remain cordial, contradicting narratives suggesting internal political conflict.
One of the more dangerous narratives in this debate isn’t criticism itself; that’s healthy. The real risk is incitement to disruption. According to the parties, calls for ethnic mobilisation, localised shutdowns of surveillance operations or protest action that could derail coordinated security efforts are not harmless rhetoric. They threaten the very gains that have brought stability to a region long defined by volatility.
Even more telling is that the Niger Delta Youth Frontier and the Urhobo Youth Council, under the leadership of Chief Peter Aghogho, have issued a firm public condemnation of the publication, branding it not only inflammatory but a direct threat to regional stability. Their concerns reflect a broader concern among community stakeholders: that misinformation could undermine hard-won stability.
These groups argue that attempts to delegitimise pipeline surveillance efforts threaten both regional peace and national economic recovery. They have called for an investigation by the Office of the National Security Adviser, emphasising lawful accountability rather than retaliatory agitation.
Going forward, Nigeria’s digital public square increasingly blurs the line between activism and allegation. Public discourse, particularly in sensitive sectors like oil and security, must rely on verifiable evidence rather than lifestyle speculation or ethnic framing.
Anti-corruption institutions exist precisely for this reason. When wrongdoing occurs, investigations follow. When none exist, accusations remain opinion. Trial by social media may generate engagement, but it rarely produces justice or policy solutions.
Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited and Zane Energy operate at a critical juncture where national security, local engagement, and economic survival converge. Their work is not without controversy, but its impact is measurable and undeniable. Since the implementation of intensified surveillance, oil theft has dropped dramatically, production levels have rebounded to more stable figures, and losses to critical infrastructure have been significantly curtailed.
These improvements have also begun to restore investor confidence, signalling to both domestic and international stakeholders that Nigeria’s oil sector is moving toward a more secure and predictable future. None of this implies perfection or immunity from scrutiny. Transparency and accountability must remain non-negotiable principles.
However, criticism must be anchored in facts, regulatory findings, and lawful processes, not incitement or speculative narratives capable of destabilising an already delicate region.
In the current evidence-based assessment, pipeline security firms like Tantita and their subcontract partners aren’t the problem. They’re part of a solution that’s finally moving the needle. Undoing that progress risks not just economic loss, but the very stability of the Niger Delta and, by extension, Nigeria’s economic future.
