Olanrewaju Lawal

Аннотация

INTRODUCTION directly undermines Nigeria’s primary source of Over the past decade, Nigeria has faced a complex revenue, has emerged as a major economic threat, set of challenges, with corruption, crude oil theft, costing the nation billions of dollars annually and national security issues being at the forefront. (Ozogu et al., 2023). This illicit activity has not only These problems have created a vicious cycle, depleted vital national resources but also fuelled where each issue exacerbates the other, leading to criminal networks, heightened insecurity, and significant economic, political, and social hindered development. repercussions. Corruption has remained deeply entrenched in various sectors, influencing Nigeria's national security situation has been governance, policy implementation, and resource further aggravated by these issues. Corruption allocation. Meanwhile, crude oil theft, which within security agencies has weakened efforts to https://www.theamericanjournals.com/index.php/tajssei 45 THE USA JOURNALS THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND EDUCATION INNOVATIONS (ISSN- 2689-100X) VOLUME 06 ISSUE11 combat insurgency, terrorism, and organised global oil theft and fraud, emphasizing the severe crime, while the proceeds of crude oil theft have and far-reaching impacts of these crimes. The funded illegal armed groups, intensifying study estimates that oil theft is a global issue instability in key regions like the Niger Delta valued at US$133 billion annually, representing 5- (Olujobi et al., 2022). These security challenges 7% of the global crude oil and petroleum fuels have, in turn, discouraged foreign investment and market. While the financial losses are significant, hindered sustainable development efforts. the study reveals that the consequences of oil theft Understanding how corruption and crude oil theft extend beyond economic damage. The research are intertwined with national security is therefore highlights a stark reduction in government tax critical to developing effective solutions. revenues in 30 developing countries affected by oil theft, indicating a significant loss in potential funds Several studies have studied different aspects of for public services and infrastructure. Oil theft is corruption. For instance, Kalinowski (2016) often underestimated compared to other major explored the complexities of corruption, crimes like human trafficking, drug trade, and particularly its challenges in democracies like terrorism. South Korea. While corruption remains a global barrier to good governance, the study emphasizes However, Romsom (2022) argues that it should the need for international comparisons and not be trivialized, as it often develops into detailed case studies to fully understand organized crime, intertwining with other criminal corruption trends. Despite South Korea's legal activities if not properly addressed. The study reforms and active civil society, corruption notes that current efforts to combat oil theft are persists due to its authoritarian past and the hindered by a lack of data on the volume of stolen dominance of large conglomerates (chaebols). oil, methods of transportation, and illicit Gupta et al. (2018)) analyse Nepal's corruption transactions. The blending of legal operations with trends, noting regional disparities and the illegal activities further complicates efforts to influence of socio-demographic factors, while combat this crime. Romsom (2022) calls for highlighting the need for targeted anti-corruption targeted action against transnational crime strategies. Uberti (2022) demonstrates that syndicates, emphasising the need for better data corruption negatively impacts economic growth, collection, disruption of organized crime, and especially in democracies where decentralized stronger international cooperation to effectively corruption is more harmful than in autocracies. address oil theft. The study advocates for anti-corruption efforts in Gillies (2020) investigates corruption during young democracies, emphasising the uniformly Africa's oil boom from 2005 to 2014, highlighting detrimental effects of corruption. Lawal (2021) the strategies employed by public and private similarly examines corruption's negative impact actors to capture resource rents. Drawing from on political stability and economic growth in court cases and investigative reports, Gillies Nigeria, advocating for institutional reforms to examines 60 controversies across 17 African enhance governance. Dalton and Esarey (2022) countries, showing how rising oil prices critique the inconsistencies in corruption incentivized corrupt practices, especially in indicators, introducing a new measure to improve ‘rentier states’ where political power is closely tied reliability. to resource wealth. The study reveals that both Romsom (2022) offers an in-depth exploration of government officials and private companies https://www.theamericanjournals.com/index.php/tajssei 46 THE USA JOURNALS THE AMERICA