Following revelations by the federal government on the rising rate of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, the group managing director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari has called for the speedy establishment of a special court to try cases of oil theft.

Kyari spoke on Thursday when he appeared before the House of Representatives committee on petroleum resources upstream.

According to Kyari, the country’s oil theft situation has hampered the oil sector’s development, which should have been aided by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).