Relatively, the volatile pirate attacks along the Gulf of Guinea is seriously taking a toll on Nigerian shipping activities. Worse still, the inability to respond to piracy attacks is resulting in higher insurance premiums and crewing costs for shipowners who encourage them to lobby for stricter security measures Hassan It appears the political will to deal with piracy remains tenuous.
People in both public and private life face severe challenges by the effort to live with and overcome discordant tendencies across the country. The federal formation of the country is colonial and remains the present ideological and political solution Marenin and Reisig Since Nigerian politics has become a tussle for power between ethnic groups, the issue of policies is immaterial in that tussle so much so that the country belongs to the ethnic group or groups that hold power Anyanwu The political events that took place in the old Western Nigeria in injected into the social structure a new pattern of violence, which became the acceptable avenue to achieve political ends.
In the violence that erupted, people were maimed, killed and bodies littered on the streets. This event prepared Nigerians for the civil war that started in Rotimi ; a war fought for racial or ethnic injustices more than anything else see Akinwumi That war is far from being over because there are still social divisions by regions, birthplace and state of origin; ethnic affiliations; religious beliefs; ideological dogmas, and class distinctions Marenin and Reisig Internal conflicts and violence in Nigeria tend to emerge at moments when groups perceive denial of access to what they consider to be their right; be they linguistic, political, economic, administrative, commercial, and religious.
The most critical issue, therefore, is the perception and fear of domination by a group Ibrahim : In recent times, ethnic injustices have continued to occur in different parts of the country. Such may have given rise to the formation of ethnic militias. The mission of these militias has been to seek redress for political and economic disadvantage, the decentralisation of state powers, autonomy and self-determination in the sense of resource control, the provision of security and the right to determine their future in the political landscape of Nigeria Agbu : The Niger Delta remains a substantial breeding ground of youth militancy arising from high levels of poverty in the face of considerable investments in oil exploration and exploitation Mberu : The picture in Fig.
There will be more discussion on Fig. The emergence of MEND in coincided with a sharp increase in piracy activities the following year, thus revealing that MEND is a significant player in maritime piracy in Nigeria Charlesbois Both the supporters of MEND and the pirates are natives of tribal communities living in the Niger Delta region Ikelegbe : — Most of the piracies thrive in the Niger Delta - an area of defunct Republic of Biafra - a secessionist region of Nigeria, which fought for independence between and The majority of the people there are Christians see United Nations Many other groups are actively participating in the legitimate struggle, as they see it, for better lives.
Besides, criminal mobs have exploited the deteriorating security situation purely for financial gain, at times, lending legitimacy from MEND Nodland and Odin Over time, it has become necessary to articulate the catastrophic and criminal events in the Niger Delta:. The region is generally restive, with pockets of insurrection and armed rebellion.
Decades of oil exploitation, environmental degradation and state neglect has created an impoverished, marginalised and exploited citizenry which after more than two decades produced a resistance of which the youth has been a vanguard. A regime of state repression and corporate violence has further generated popular and criminal violence, lawlessness, illegal appropriations and insecurity.
The Niger Delta is today a region of intense hostilities, violent confrontations and criminal violence. It is pervaded by a proliferation of arms and institutions and agencies of violence ranging from the Nigerian Armed Forces to community, ethnic and youth militias, armed gangs and networks, pirates, cultists and robbers Ikelegbe : It is equally challenging to establish what motivates these militant youths in the Niger Delta.
Most of them justify their actions in political terms; some of them do so convincingly as they insist on less corruption, cleaner waters and fairer revenue distribution; some do not.
As things are, the Nigerian oil crisis has more than its fair share of rouges whose only real motivation is banditry and opportunist crime Nodland and Odin Both the Nigerian government and the multinational oil firms feel the pain most.
They are left with appalling choices to accept falling revenues and increasing security risks, as their personnel and material assets face threats by an assertive, competent, and highly motivated resistance force Nodland and Odin Since the s, Niger Delta minorities have been agitating against marginalisation, neglect, and the politics of exclusion by the ethnic majority based ruling political parties, and governments of former Eastern and Western regions.
The materialisation of commercial oil production from the region in and afterwards raised the stakes high and generated a struggle by the natives for control of the oil resources Ikelegbe : This alliance came about to foil the aggressiveness and hegemonic intentions of the Yoruba and Igbo neighbours over the NDM.
The creation of the Mid-western region and afterwards of states liberated the NDM from the direct political control of the Igbo and Yoruba political elite. After that, the identity struggles of the NDM directs itself towards the oil economy Ibrahim and its control. Also, it has taken many lives, destroyed properties and fostered criminal activities such as oil bunkering, kidnapping, armed robbery and piracy on the coast for decades.
The Niger Delta region persistently calls for development, but it is disappointing that the Federal Government is not doing much for the benefit of the indigenous people. Therefore, when the locals see the spread of oil platforms, pumping stations, and other oil installations and infrastructure across the region, they express their displeasure by obstructing the extraction process Oyefusi Their overt reactions have taken different patterns over the years.
Further, the region was marginalised and neglected in the developmental efforts that followed massive oil revenues. The region by the s was one of the least developed and most impoverished.
However, and regrettably too, increasing oil exploration had made the region economically and socially drained, courtesy of extensive environmental degradation and ensuing socio-economic disruptions and poverty Peel : In the early s, filled with resentment over their non-participation in the benefits accruing from oil extracted from their land, a majority of Niger Delta youths fearlessly undertook a broad programme to disrupt oil extraction in Ogoniland. Furthermore, in the late s, to disrupt oil flow in Ijawland, Isokoland, and other ethnic groups in the area.
Those criminal activities were carried out in expectation of some ransom probably paid after severe negotiations between the captors and representatives of the captives. In short, a large pool of restive youths in the region [such as the Ogonis, Ijaws, and Isokos] took advantage of the political alienation on the ground to exploit criminal opportunities available Ikelegbe It could be that in their estimation, the risk they took was worth it because it made their voice heard loudly by the Federal Government.
Successive governments have followed the historic pace set by Yaradua, by the appointment of a Federal Minister of Niger Delta. Despite that, politicians native to the locality are still in the fight for control of such funds. Such funds are illegitimate and untaxed. However, their use is to assuage such politicians who may be influential in their local communities.
Overtime grievance has given way to greed see Watts The Buhari administration wants to further the development of the Niger Delta region. For that reason, the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta had awarded many contracts but allegedly to politicians and government officials. At the time of completing this paper, the probe by the FHR was at its earliest stages. Media reports reveal that those alleged to have benefitted from the fraud include some top government officials, the ruling All Progressive Congress APC Party officials and former governors.
Others include some members of the National Assembly, a judge, senior police and army officers, some traditional rulers, and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission [EFCC] officials Saharareporters ; Odunsi Furthermore, recriminations and counter recriminations are on the horizon. If members of the FHR do not take the fraud investigation seriously, and the perpetrators able to face justice, it might exacerbate youth restiveness, piracy and allied crimes in the Niger Delta.
The reason being that those who should ab initio benefit from the outcomes of the contracts Niger Delta communities are still suffering from untold hardships created by the bourgeoisie. When the corruption scandal probe ends, a new Bill should urgently be passed by the National Assembly and assented by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, ensuring that politicians and public servants do not apply or tender for government contracts in the country.
In an attempt to fight maritime piracy, the government, in August , appointed a one-time Delta warlord from Bayelsa State, General Boyloaf, as leader of a maritime security outfit in his home state of Bayelsa. It is worth remembering that Boyloaf once led an aggressive attack on a Shell oil platform km 74 miles offshore. They chose me to deal with it as the creeks are my terrain.
With the Buhari administration in office, the military have taken over the safeguarding of national pipelines with security reassurance. Earlier President Buhari had ordered the cleaning up of oil spillage in the Niger Delta.
This situation had adversely affected the overall well-being of the locality, marine life, maritime transportation, and indeed the economic growth of the entire country. Maritime transportation is a very crucial economic sector that under-props not only international trade but also enhances global economic integration and globalisation Igbokwe This marine transportation represents around 93, merchant vessels, 1.
Besides, Nigeria being a coastal and an import-oriented state depends mostly on international shipping for revenue from the mining of natural resources, primarily crude oil, and of course, not excluding the movement of essential goods to and from other countries Igbokwe Moreover, the Gulf of Guinea remains a critical maritime route for international shipping from Europe to America, to West, Central and Southern Africa.
W Therefore, the Gulf of Guinea is considered a strategic location due to its natural resources. Besides, piracy has had negative impacts on global trade and the growth of the global economy Igbokwe Estimate revels that Nigeria loses , barrels of crude oil every day to oil thieves, which amounts to about N2.
Although this data may not represent the full scale of the losses, depending on where and how information is coming from; at least it tries to cast a shadow on the severe economic problem facing Nigeria, which partly arises from piracy.
Now, the rate of covid19 infection in Nigeria is minimal compared to Western societies, India and some Latin American countries like Brazil.
When that happens, opportunist pirates might cash in on that to hijack the vulnerable vessels that fall prey to them see Prins Since what affects Nigeria affects the Gulf of Guinea; governments in the region, and especially Nigeria must be up to speed in ensuring against the threat to economic activities as a result of maritime piracy, hence the need for high-level security operatives that patrol the waters.
The fight against piracy is a high-security challenge for the Nigerian Navy. Besides the joint global efforts to tackle piracy through maritime patrol, the Nigerian Navy had in January installed at least, eight automated camera-equipped surveillance towers in the littoral zone just off the Nigerian coast Oseghale They quickly put up a response and reception plan, which led to the hijackers abandoning their mission and fleeing Amodu According to Akpobolokemi, the new hour Surveillance Centre is capable of detecting boats, ships, and objects of predefined cross-section floating on water, which includes any aircraft that ditches and remains on the surface during satellite over-flight.
Its abilities further include, but not limited to setting range rings and restricted areas for which when penetrated by an intruder, the system gives an alarm thereby alerting the operator and watch-keeper Amodu This signal will then make it clear to security operatives to react to a possible attack on a maritime vessel offshore. The Agency have taken proactive initiatives ahead of pirates within the areas and with a promise to continue to frustrate kidnappers in their evil acts Hassan The former FOC pointed out that the drastic drop in oil theft and other criminal acts within the waterways is consequent upon the regular and active naval patrol along the Calabar-Oron and Ikang waterways.
Such action has made it difficult for sea robbers to attack oil service vessels and international boats that apply between Nigeria, Sao Tome, Cameroun and Gabon. However, pirates have now changed course to attacking soft targets which are passenger boats Hassan Arguably, if a new procedure is put in place to control or deter criminals, they criminals will, in turn, redesign their escape routes to perpetuate their criminal operations. Despite the launched ships, the criminal activities of pirates are still thriving along the Nigerian coasts Hassan Back in the old days, in , a small Nigerian Naval Force was established with ten small vessels, adequate only for coastal security functions.
It acquired a corvette in , and two more were added in The Soviet Union supplied several motor patrol boats in the late s, providing Nigeria with the necessary resources to combat any pirate crew in her territorial waters Nigerian Navy However, much of the Nigerian Navy still consists of older ships; some transferred to Nigeria from Great Britain upon her independence in Many of these were World War II surplus. Maintaining such an ageing fleet has been a significant burden on Nigerian Navy resources Nigerian Navy Recently, in , the Nigerian Navy acquired 16 vessels 10 small boats and 6 patrol vessels to help protect the maritime environment, including the oil and gas infrastructure DefenceWeb Probably, this project aims at having up to date state of the art equipment that can weaken and surmount the nefarious activities of sea pirates, which affect both national and global economies.
It is a metre vessel designed to be equipped with two Although all of the West African states are trying to strengthen their coast guards with Western help, and there are ongoing efforts to share information on shipping and attacks; however, if there is to be a lasting solution to piracy, Nigeria will have to take the lead in regularly patrolling its waters and restraining illegal activity The Economist because according to an arrested piracy suspect, Bless Nube:.
But it will be difficult for the President to win the war. If he must win, then he has to look inward. Lagos State, for instance, is a major coastal place where we meet to discuss on our next target. So, government must first search its big men if it is serious in winning the war Usman The above quotation implies that some unpatriotic political office holders in Nigeria are complicit in piracy activities. It is utterly disappointing that government officials who should be role models to youths end up conniving with them in crime, thereby scandalising them and approving criminal behaviour as the objective norm.
When things like that happen, it becomes challenging to combat sea piracy. At times, pirates can defeat the Navy in the gun battle. For example, armed pirates raided the oil dredger MV Ambika as it worked in the dangerous waterways of the Niger Delta late on Thursday 2 January During the incident, a team of naval rescue squad came on a rescue mission, but during the gun battle, the pirates succeeded in killing four of the naval personnel of the squad.
Before the arrival of the naval rescue team, the pirates had gained access into the vessel and abducted two Russians and one Indian who were part of the eight crew members onboard the vessel Agence France-Presse Also, it calls for a thorough investigation regarding what made pirates win the battle, in the hope that it does not happen again.
The Act appears to be the first of its kind in West and Central Africa, with some clarity in the fight against piracy offences Foyeku That gap in the law might allow pirates to abuse the system by committing other crimes alongside piracy which the Act does not cover.
It is also a wake-up call for other countries within the Gulf of Guinea to enact similar domestic laws, and then aim at partnering at the regional level in creating a transnational legal instrument that will stem the activities of sea pirates in the region.
There is no doubt that a closer and regular co-operation among Navies within the region will drastically reduce the menace of the pirates. There was no formal mechanism in place at the time, but the Navies did what they did as a result of relationships as neighbouring countries Ralby The vessel was hijacked by pirates on Thursday, 14 May in the Ivorian exclusive economic zone with 18 crewmembers aboard — eight Chinese, seven Ghanaian and three Ivorian nationals. However, the Nigerian Navy was able to interdict the Chinese fishing vessel nautical miles south of the Lagos Fairway Buoy at about hours local time on the night of 16 May The outcome of the trial will go a long way to sending a clear message to sea pirates that their criminal activities on the Nigerian littoral area will no longer be business as usual.
Already the Nigerian Navy had warned piracy perpetrators to desist from criminal activities within the Gulf of Guinea coastline Babalola Now, with the support of the new legislation, pirates can be arrested by the Navy and then arraigned in court for prosecution. The security operatives and indeed, the criminal justice agencies owe Nigerians the patriotic duty to ensure that corruption does not stand in the way of justice for the country, the victims and even the pirates themselves.
With these new initiatives, piratical activities are easily detectable, and the perpetrators can be arrested and prosecuted. All the control and preventive measures against piracy have become necessary due to the nature of contemporary piracy so that Nigeria and indeed, the Gulf of Guinea will become safe for maritime transportation. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and in particular Nigeria has had a protracted history. It is traceable down to the trans-Atlantic slave trade era, even though the slave trade predates it.
In the past few years, piracy seems to have had an impressive decline in some parts of the world. In contrast, attacks off Somalia almost always occur while ships are underway. The "story behind the story" of the IMB report - and the reason so many tankers are plying the coast in and out of Nigeria - has been a chronic failure by the authorities there to build and maintain domestic Nigerian oil refineries.
To put it bluntly: There is so much money to be made from exporting crude from the sub-region's biggest oil producer - and re-importing refined fuel to the very large, petrol-thirsty Nigerian population - that developing a real, productive economy by doing things like building oil refineries has been almost forgotten.
In a good year Nigeria produces more than two million barrels of oil a day, making it one of Africa's largest producers. But it only has the capacity to refine less than a quarter of that. In practice, poor maintenance at the handful of oil refineries means far less than a quarter is actually processed in-country. So every day hundreds of tankers are plying the Gulf of Guinea and the mangrove swamps of the Niger Delta, where Nigeria's many, relatively small and scattered onshore oilfields are found.
The tankers are either taking crude out or bringing refined fuel back in. When combined with weak and sometimes corrupt security forces, this creates a perfect scenario in which pirates can operate. The swamps conceal numerous private jetties and mini-ports as well as a network of pipelines which are often broken into.
Corruption and, until recently, armed rebellion in the oil producing areas have led to the development of an entire, well-organised industry for stealing - or, as it is known in Nigeria, "bunkering" - oil products. This criminal import-export industry has become almost institutionalised by a national government subsidy on petrol sales that costs the country several billion dollars a year and encourages illicit activities. The subsidy is paid to politically well-connected fuel importers to keep prices low and so stop unrest among the majority of Nigerians who are very poor.
Nigerians know perfectly well how much money is being stolen at the top of their society and have therefore come to demand cheap petrol as their slice of the pie - and their political right.
However, what actually happens to much of the subsidised fuel is that it, too, is sold on the black market at higher prices. When this happens, Nigerians are hit by a double whammy. In , there were such incidents in West African waters. It's not just the huge tankers exporting oil and gas from Nigeria and Ghana that are targeted. Commercial ships from smaller countries are also in the sights of the pirates.
Most of the attacks have been against ships involved in oil and gas transportation, such as tankers, bulk carriers and tugs. Fishing vessels have also been targeted. The coastline off Nigeria saw the most attacks in This is partly because of "petro-piracy", targeting tankers from Nigeria's rich oil and gas fields.
There were also incidents reported at the loading and anchorage facilities in the Nigerian port of Lagos. Piracy in the form of hijacking and kidnapping for ransom payments was also common off the coasts of Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo-Brazzaville and Cameroon. Rich pickings at sea, political instability, the lack of law enforcement and poverty on land are all factors which have contributed to the increase in piracy.
Most of the seafarers affected are not from the region. Around half are from the Philippines, followed by India, Ukraine and Nigeria.
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