Nigerian Federal High Court based in Lagos convicted five Filipinos and four Bangladeshis for stealing 3,423,097 metric tons of crude oil from Nigeria, reported AllAfrica.

They were sentenced to five years imprisonment each, convicted on four counts in relation to the crime.

They were originally apprehended by the Nigerian Navy in March, trying to leave the country onboard the MT Asteris vessel with the stolen product.

A judge explained that it was not right for anyone to deprive the country of the enjoyment of its natural resources through illegal means, adding that it was such convicts that had made Nigeria a laughing stock in the eyes of the world.

According to Business Day, the convicts were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in June to face the charges bordering on conspiracy and illegal oil bunkering.