Oil Pipeline Vandalization and the Socio-Economic Effects in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region

Abstract

With the discovery of crude oil and natural gas (ONG) in the Niger Delta in 1956, it was expected that it will usher in the much needed sustainable development in the region. Whereas this did not happen, the activities of the multinational oil companies (MNOCs) operating in the region continued to pollute and degrade the environment so much that it disarticulated the local economy of the people. The unmet expectations coupled with the environmental degradation created frustration that consequently led the people, particularly the youths to vandalize oil pipelines. This paper examined the effects, as well as the causes and manifestations of oil pipeline vandalization in the region and country. The paper went further to discuss three celebrated cases on pipeline vandalization to show its consequences on the local people, and national economy and security. It also points out several lessons and recommends the involvement of the host communities into the oil economy for them to guarantee the safety of oil installations in the country.