By Isiaka Mustapha, Editor-In-Chief, People’s Security Monitor

The decision by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) directing its branches to suspend crude oil and gas supplies to the Dangote Refinery, TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, Renaissance, and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company constitutes a grave danger to the nation’s energy security. By simultaneously targeting both upstream and downstream operators, the union’s action strikes at the heart of Nigeria’s petroleum supply chain. Such a move is not merely disruptive but also reckless, with the potential to cripple domestic refining, destabilize electricity generation, fuel widespread economic dislocation, and place national security in jeopardy.

Beyond the cloak of labour agitation, the PENGASSAN directive translates to deliberate economic sabotage. Nigeria earns over 85% of its foreign exchange from crude oil and gas exports, while more than 60% of domestic industries depend on gas supply for electricity and production. A coordinated disruption will not only paralyze critical industries but also erase billions of naira in daily economic output. This is not unionism; it is outright criminality against the state.

A decision by a single association to halt national fuel supplies undermines the authority of the Nigerian state. No union has the constitutional power to suspend energy production and supply in a sovereign country. By attempting to hold the government and citizens hostage, PENGASSAN is challenging the legitimacy of the constituted authority. If unchecked, this recklessness could embolden other groups to adopt similar unlawful methods, thereby pushing the nation into state of anarchy.

History shows that fuel scarcity in Nigeria often triggers chaos. During the 2012 fuel subsidy protests, the economy lost over ₦1.3 trillion in just two weeks, while millions of Nigerians were stranded without transportation. Should PENGASSAN succeed in halting supplies to Dangote Refinery, the single biggest hope for ending fuel importation, the ripple effect would no doubt amount to skyrocketing transport fares, food inflation, industrial blackouts, and widespread social unrest.

Nigerians are not new to the disruptive antics of PENGASSAN. Past strikes have led to fuel queues stretching for kilometers, children missing school because parents could not fuel vehicles, hospitals running without power due to diesel shortages, and small businesses closing shops. These selfish actions, cloaked in the language of worker solidarity, always leave ordinary Nigerians as the victims, while the leaders of the association benefit politically or financially.

The Department of State Services (DSS) cannot afford to sit idle while a union issues orders capable of destabilizing the entire nation. The brains behind this directive must be rounded up for questioning. Their communications, instructions, and motives should be carefully investigated to determine whether there are elements of treason, sabotage, or collusion with external actors. Allowing them to continue without consequences will send a dangerous signal of weakness.

There are strong grounds to suspect that PENGASSAN’s sudden aggression could be politically motivated. The timing of the directive raises questions about whether opposition forces are secretly using union structures to undermine the government of the day. State security agencies must probe this connection, given that Nigeria has a long history of opposition groups exploiting labour unrest to weaken sitting governments.

To uncover the full picture, Nigerian security agencies must go beyond rhetoric and profile the bank accounts and financial transactions of PENGASSAN leaders. If foreign funding, opposition-linked cash inflows, or unusual transfers are discovered, it would confirm that the directive is not a simple labour dispute but a coordinated attempt at economic blackmail. The survival of the Nigerian state requires thorough intelligence work.

Dangote Refinery represents Africa’s largest single-train refinery, with the capacity to process 650,000 barrels per day. For the first time, Nigeria is on the verge of energy independence and freedom from decades of import dependency. By targeting Dangote specifically, PENGASSAN is attempting to destroy Nigeria’s economic breakthrough before it fully takes root. This is not only anti-Nigeria but also anti-people, as citizens stand to benefit the most from local refining.

The law grants unions the right to protest peacefully, but it does not authorise them to sabotage national infrastructure. PENGASSAN’s order amounts to a criminal conspiracy to disrupt essential services. Section 37 of the Trade Disputes Act explicitly prohibits actions that threaten national security or essential economic activities. The government must therefore treat this directive as a crime, not a labour issue.

A legitimate government cannot fold its arms while a handful of disgruntled elements hold 200 million Nigerians hostage. Decisive action must be taken to prevent the union from weaponising its influence over vital oil and gas infrastructure. The government must invoke its powers under the National Security Act and immediately order security forces to secure all petroleum installations and ensure uninterrupted flow of supplies.

Ultimately, Nigeria cannot continue to suffer from the selfish interests of a few individuals. Energy security is national security. PENGASSAN’s illegal directive must be reversed, its architects held accountable, and safeguards introduced to ensure that no union, no matter how influential, can again attempt to shut down Nigeria’s economic lifeline. The cost of inaction is too high: chaos, inflation, unemployment, and potentially civil unrest.

The Department of State Services (DSS) must move with speed and the full weight of the law, but within legal bounds to dismantle the networks behind this campaign of economic terror. That means targeted arrests where there is credible evidence, preservation and seizure of documents and electronic communications, immediate freezing of suspect bank accounts pending forensic examination, and emergency search-and-seizure warrants against known coordination hubs. The objective must be to remove the capacity to coordinate further disruption, not to mete out summary punishments; due process and credible investigations will make prosecutions stick and protect the state from claims of overreach.

Beyond arresting foot soldiers, the DSS should focus on the financiers and political facilitators who profit from or encourage these illegal acts. This requires urgent inter-agency collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria, and relevant prosecutorial authorities to trace, freeze and recover illicit funds. Where there is cross-border movement of funds or instruction, Nigeria should invoke mutual legal assistance treaties and work with international partners to ensure assets are blocked and returned. Disrupting the money trail is the most effective way to make criminality unprofitable.

At the same time, the DSS must guard against the politicisation of security operations. Investigations should be evidence-based and insulated from partisan pressure; any hint that enforcement is selective or politically motivated will deepen divisions and feed the narrative of persecution.