Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited has warned that Nigeria’s growing pipeline of gas investments, valued at an estimated $20 billion, could be undermined if pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, and sabotage are not brought firmly under control.

The warning came from the company’s General Manager for Community and Stakeholders Relations, Dr Akpos Mezeh, during PINL’s August 2026 stakeholders meeting held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Mezeh told attendees that operations along the Trans Niger Pipeline and the Eastern Gas Network corridors had largely been sustained over the past month through close collaboration between PINL, security agencies, contractors, and host communities. Even so, he acknowledged that attempted vandalism, sabotage, and equipment failures had still been recorded in some locations, though he noted that prompt interventions led to swift repairs and that some suspects had been arrested, with investigations ongoing.

Mezeh linked the security concerns to the broader momentum building around Nigeria’s gas sector, pointing to the recent signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement for the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline by ECOWAS leaders as evidence of the country’s rising importance in regional energy cooperation.

The proposed pipeline, stretching roughly 6,900 kilometres, is designed to connect Nigeria to Morocco through 13 Atlantic countries, with additional links extending to landlocked Sahel nations. He argued that this expanding pipeline of major gas projects and agreements would only translate into real economic growth, job creation, and improved energy supply if communities, security agencies, and other stakeholders worked together to protect critical infrastructure from attack.

He called for stronger community-level surveillance and faster intelligence-sharing with security agencies, stressing that vigilance at the grassroots level has a direct bearing on national outcomes. “Every timely report and every act of vigilance protect lives, preserves our environment and safeguards Nigeria’s economy,” he said.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Head of Field Operations for the Eastern Corridor at the NNPC Project Monitoring Office, Akponime Omojevwhe, commended host communities for their role in pipeline surveillance, revealing that two operational zones recorded zero security incidents between January and June, a benchmark he urged other communities to replicate.

Photo Credit: Hoscon Archives