By year’s end, we’ll have DNA fingerprints of crude oil to track criminals – Onu

The Federal Government has promised that by the end of this year, it will start conducting deoxyribonucleic acid finger-printing of the country’s crude oil in order to identify theft and apprehend criminals.

The Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, made this known during the inauguration of an ultra-modern Bio-Resources Laboratory and Feeding Mill Complex in Odi, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Onu assured Nigerians that with the facilities at the newly-opened laboratory, oil theft would soon become a thing of the past.

He said the finger-printing of Nigeria’s crude oil would enable the country to track its crude oil anywhere when stolen, and solve the problem of economic sabotage.

The minister said, “I feel very happy with this ultra modern laboratory. For me, Nigeria is changing. With this capacity here now, we will be able to do many things.

“I just gave them instruction that by the end of this year, we should have finger-printing of our crude oil.

”With this measure, if anybody steals our crude oil, the government will be able to identify it, because even crude oil can have fingerprints and with the equipment we have here, we can do it in Nigeria.” Punch