- N3.136 trillion of the nation’s crude oil revenue loss exposed some corrupt officials in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector

- "You needed to have seen Mr President. He was almost moved to tears at the colossal fraud that had taken place in the country."

A staggering $16 billion or N3.136 trillion at the official exchange rate of N196 of the nation’s crude oil revenue loss has demonstrated the scale of corruption in Nigeria, as several individuals in oil and gas sector are believed to be involved in a massive fraud scam.

The fraudsters, whose identities were not disclosed, as well as looted funds are currently under intensive investigation. According to an Aso Rock Presidential Villa source, one of the officials has been repeatedly interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and granted administrative bail.

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Vanguard reports that President Muhammadu Buhari is aware of the situation and has ordered "that every kobo of the funds must be recovered." One of Aso Rock insiders said: "The funds were supposed to be proceeds from some of the crude oil sold on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria by these people and for which they were said not to have made the necessary returns to the coffers of the country.

You needed to have been there. You needed to have seen Mr. President. He was almost moved to tears at the colossal fraud that had taken place in the country. He became dejected because at a time when the nation’s resources had gone down badly, at a time when the foreign reserves are also not as much as would be befitting of a nation with vast potentials, such a huge amount of money can be traced to the illegal activities of some people.

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But Mr President has ordered that every kobo must be recovered. Whatever it takes, he has made it clear that those funds must be recovered. Records of the oil-lifting schedules, timelines of transactions as well as proceeds that were meant to have accrued to government showed that some people just constituted themselves into a parallel government and were just making away with the nation’s resources."

The government of the United States is reportedly collaborating with Buhari-led administration on how to trace some of the stolen funds from the country. Meanwhile, Benin Republic and South Africa have been indetified as reliable partners always ready to repatriate the looted funds.