Nigerian Navy recruits 1,176 personnel to fight sea pirates, oil bunkers

by Akinyemi Akinrujomu

The Nigerian Navy has recruited no fewer than 1,176 young men and women to aid its fight against sea pirates and oil bunkers in the nation’s maritime domain.

News Agency of Nigeria reports that General Abayomi Olonisakin, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), revealed this on Saturday, May 18 at the formal Passing Out Parade of Batch 28 recruits trained at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School in Onne, Rivers state.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: legit.ng

Nigeria, others lost $2.3bn to maritime crime in three years – UN report

Tunde Ajaja

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says the estimated economic cost of piracy to Nigeria and other West African countries between 2015 and 2017 stands at $2.3bn.

It stated that within the period under review, the sub-region lost about $777.1m to piracy on an annual basis, which it said was in addition to human costs as the Gulf of Guinea experienced an escalation of piracy, kidnapping and armed robbery at sea incidents in recent years.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: punchng.com

Piracy: Changing a Wrong Perception of Nigeria

BY Vincent Obia

When in December last year Dr. Dakuku Peterside appealed to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) to, “Please, report Nigeria appropriately,” he was making a passionate comment on a country determined to change, and challenging the misrepresentation of its situation by a world information system often lost in the ambiguities of perception. The call by the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), made during a visit by the International Maritime Security Operations Team (IMSOT) from the United Kingdom, was against the backdrop of exaggerated reports on incidents on the country’s waterways. IMB, a specialised department of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) dedicated to fighting maritime crime and malpractice, was the main culprit in what looked like a campaign of disinformation against the Nigerian maritime domain.

In often complicated and confusing accounts of maritime incidents, crimes within and outside Nigeria’s territorial waters are lumped together and presented as piracy. And attempts are hardly made to appreciate Nigeria’s efforts to curtail security incidents within its maritime space.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: thisdaylive.com

Maritime security: Nigerian waters now safer, says Peterside

Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General Dr. Dakuku Peterside has said piracy and other maritime crimes have reduced drastically in the Nigerian maritime domain, making it safer for investment.

Contrary to reports in a section of the media on his responses while defending the Agency’s budget before the Senate Committee on Maritime Transport in Abuja, Peterside noted that efforts being put in place by the Federal Government to tackle maritime crimes were now yielding results. He added that NIMASA would continue to up its game to ensure Nigerians benefit from the enormous potential in the sector.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: thenationonlineng.net

There Is No Piracy In Nigeria, But Armed Robbery – Bello

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Barrister Hassan Bello, says there is no piracy in Nigeria, but what we have are incidences of armed robbery. Bello said the armed robbery incidences and not piracy has been confirmed by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

The Secretary in a statement made available to The Tide queried the rational behind foreign shipping lines slamming ‘war risk surcharges’ on Nigerian bound cargoes,
He said the slamming war risk are deliberate extortion of Nigerian importers and creating a wrong impression about Nigeria’s maritime sector.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: thetidenewsonline.com

Suspected pirates kidnap five oil workers in Rivers

By Victor Azubuike

Indigenous oil firm, Belemaoil has confirmed the kidnap of five oil workers on its platform in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The gunmen suspected to be sea pirates had accosted their victims working on an oil installation on a high sea before whisking them away in a speedboat to an unknown destination.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: dailypost.ng

Pirate attacks continue in West Africa

The Gulf of Guinea has recorded its third ship hijacking this month, with a chemical tanker captured off Togo, as the region continues to see a spike in maritime insecurity.

According to the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting centre, armed pirates boarded and hijacked an anchored chemical tanker at Lome Anchorage on 12 May, holding its crew hostage.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: defenceweb.co.za

Police Uncover Plots To Attack Oil Facilities In Niger Delta

By Chibuike Chukwu

Lagos – The Nigeria Police Force said it has uncovered plots by some subversive elements masquerading as climate and environmental activists to commence massive and coordinated attacks on oil installations across the country especially in the Niger-Delta region and adjoining states.

These plots, according to a statement by Frank Mba, the Force image maker, on Wednesday, were politically motivated, and aimed at sabotaging oil installations with intended negative consequences on national security, economic development and global oil market.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: independent.ng

Maritime crimes squeeze NIMASA’s revenue

by Onyedi Ojiabor

The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, yesterday blamed high rate of crime for the revenue shortfall the agency recorded in 2018 fiscal year.

He spoke in Abuja during 2019 budget defence session of the agency before the Senate Committee on Marine Transport. Peterside who made the submission in response to a question on why NIMASA’s contributions to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2018 reduced by N6billion noted that maritime crimes was largely responsible for the reduction.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: thenationonlineng.net

Navy arrests Ghanaian, eight Beninoise for oil theft

by Tajudeen Adebanjo and Yewande Fasan

The Nigerian Navy has said it arrested nine foreign nationals alongside two boats and seven trucks over alleged stolen Petrol Motor Spirit (PMS) around the Atlas Cove area of Lagos.

The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT, Commodore Ibrahim Shettima said this while briefing reporters at the command in Apapa, Lagos.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: thenationonlineng.net