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.

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Source: punchng.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.

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Source: thenationonlineng.net

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.

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Source: independent.ng

Navy hands over eight suspected oil thieves, boat to EFCC in Calabar

By Odita Sunday

The Nigerian Navy, NNS Victory Calabar, has handed over eight persons suspected to be involved in illegal conveyance of oil to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Uyo Zonal Office, including 105 drums of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), and the wooden boat used for the illegal activity.

The suspects arrested onboard the boat are: Godwin Eden (Nigerian), Justice Ebanga (Nigerian), Effiong Gilbert (Nigerian), Manasseh Obani (Nigerian), Ambe Festus (Cameroonian), Alpha Emmanuel (Cameroonian), Sakwe Felix (Cameroonian) and Vasco Mekora (Cameroonian).

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Source: guardian.ng

Nigeria offers 43 licences for large, modular refineries

By Kingsley Jeremiah

The Federal Government has disclosed that about 43 refineries, including large scale and modular refineries have been licensed to refine petroleum products across the country.

The Senior Technical Adviser to Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister on Refineries and Downstream Infrastructure, Rabiu Suleiman, told The Guardian in an exclusive interview that two of the refineries (modular) would be inaugurated in the coming week in the Niger Delta region.

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Source: guardian.ng

‘Unchecked crude oil theft fuels illegal artisanal refining’

By Kelvin Ebiri

Environmental stakeholders have blamed the unchecked rampant crude theft for the thriving of artisanal refinery activities, which now devastate the environment in the Niger Delta.

The stakeholders also noted that the continuing gas-flaring in the Niger Delta clearly underscores the failure of democratic institutions in the country to address the environmental challenges faced by oil-bearing communities in the region.

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Source: guardian.ng

Nigeria deploys satellite tech to track oil smugglers

From algorithms to track “dark” ships smuggling stolen crude oil to an online licensing system to undercut corruption, one Nigerian government agency hopes it can use new technology to tackle theft which has cost the country billions.

But the initiative by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) may be too late to stem the migration of energy majors to the relative safety of drilling at sea, driven offshore by an illegal trade that Nigeria’s sprawling bureaucracy has for decades proved unable or unwilling to tackle.

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Source: hellenicshippingnews.com

Fire guts oil wells in Ondo as multinational alleges sabotage

By Oluwaseun Akingboye

Five oil wells, operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) at Ajegunle Ikorigho community in Ilaje Local Council of Ondo State, have engulfed in combustible fire few weeks after militants threatened to resume hostilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The Guardian learnt that the inferno, which had been on for seven days, worsened yesterday and spread to neighbouring riverine communities.

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Source: guardian.ng

Navy tasks NASS on anti-piracy bill

Kingston Obung

The menace of piracy in Nigeria’s territorial waters could be brought to an end if the National Assembly expedites action on the bill before it on piracy, the Nigerian Navy has said.

This remark was made in Calabar by Com Olukoya Bamidele, a guest lecturer and representative of the Nigerian Navy during an inter-agency corporation seminar organised by the Naval War College, Nigeria to discuss the Harmonized Standard Operating Procedures on Arrest, Detention and Prosecution of Vessels &Persons in Nigeria Maritime Environment (HSOP-AD&P).

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Source: blueprint.ng

‘Rising crude theft depleting revenue, crippling environment’

By Nurudeen Oyewole

The New Nigeria Foundation (NNF), a civil environmental group focusing on crude oil theft in Niger/Delta, has raised the alarm that the rising crude theft in the region is massively depleting the country’s revenue base and crippling the environment.

NFF Senior Programmes Manager Mrs. Olayide Adesanya told newsmen in Lagos that crude theft had become a hydra-headed monster crippling the socio-economic, environment and economy of the country.

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Source: dailytrust.com.ng