June 9, 2026
By Godwin Oritse
Fresh concerns over the persistent menace of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta were recently brought to the fore by the traditional ruler of Upata Kingdom in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, His Royal Majesty, Felix Otuwarikpo, who alleged that influential members of the nation’s elite are deeply involved in the illicit trade and the sabotage of critical oil infrastructure.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Press Week of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, the monarch called on the media to intensify investigative reporting and expose those behind the criminal enterprise. He stressed that the press, as the watchdog of society, has a crucial role to play in uncovering activities that have continued to deprive the nation of enormous revenue and undermine economic development.
According to the traditional ruler: “The elite sponsor people to indulge in pipelines vandalism at the community level, so we should begin to look beyond blaming poverty and illiteracy. We should broaden our assertions to include elite class involvement in order to find lasting solutions.”
