Category: Saturday Magazine

There is a recent spike in piracy incidents on the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) and, if not quickly curbed, may erode the feats recorded so far in the maritime security sector during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. As the Nigerian Navy battles to sustain zero piracy record amidst new threats, MUSA UMAR BOLOGI looks at cases of piracy in the last five years and the successes so far

It was a celebratory affair in March 2022 when Nigeria was delisted from piracy-prone countries by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The delisting led to removal of war risk premium and reduction in the cost of insurance from $5,000 to $960 for Merchant Ships coming to Nigeria.

 The IMB’s report titled, “Piracy and armed robbery against ship,” indicated that of the 58 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships recorded globally, 12 were reported in the Gulf of Guinea, but none occurred in Nigerian waters. The report chronicles any illegal act of violence or detention or any act of depredation, or threat committed for private ends and directed against a ship or against persons or property on board such a ship, within a country’s internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial sea.

 The reports, which include among other things, the names and a description of ships attacked, position and date/time of incidents, consequences to the crew, ship or cargo, and actions taken by the crew and coastal authorities, are circulated monthly, followed by a comprehensive annual report, published at the beginning of the second quarter of the subsequent year. The delisting makes Nigeria the country with the least cases of piracy globally. The 2022 record is also the least Nigeria has had over a long period of time – in thirty years, as revealed by local and international data on maritime security.

 But while the country and stakeholders in the maritime sector were about to celebrate this achievement, two unfortunate incidents occurred within the Gulf of Guinea in the last three five weeks – a crisis that is threatening to rubbish the new feat attained by Nigeria.

Pirate attacks in Nigerian waters in five years

The IMB piracy index showed that Nigeria recorded 31 cases of piracy and armed robbery in 2018 out of 107 cases that were reported across international waters in the first six months of the year, and 201 cases globally at the end of the year – an increase of 87 per cent. In the following year, less cases of piracy were recorded globally, and this also affected the cases recorded on Nigeria’s waters.  Hence, the country recorded 21 cases of vessel attacks within its waters out of the 78 cases of global maritime piracy and armed robbery incidents reported to IMB from January to June and 162 cases globally at the end of 2019.

 However, in 2020 there was a global rise in piracy attacks and this equally affected incidents on Nigeria’s water.  In that year, Nigeria recorded 41 cases of piracy and sea robbery out of the 98 cases that were reported globally in the first half of the year, and 195 cases that were recorded at the end of the year, at 98.97 percent increase. But by the same time in 2021, the incidents reduced again globally, and out of the 68 cases of piracy incidents reported between January to June 2021 on international waters, only 4 incidents of the attack happened in Nigeria within the first half of the year, and 132 cases at the end of the year.

While 2021 was good news for maritime security globally, 2022 was even better, as there was drastic reduction of cases of piracy and armed robbery on international waters. The year was also a good year for Nigeria. According to the IMB report for the year, out of 58 incidents of global piracy recorded from January to 30 June, 12 were reported in the GoG, and 10 cases were classified as armed robbery and the remaining two were referred to as “piracy attacks,” with none of them occurring in Nigerian waters.

 In a broad range of operations to increase capability and capacity to respond, check piracy, illicit trafficking and other maritime threats in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigerian Special Forces have lately taken the fight to the criminals upsetting maritime security and business activities.  Experts believe the fight against piracy being championed by the Nigerian government is already yielding positive results, as attested to by the report of the IMB), which revealed that pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea dropped drastically in the first ten months of 2022, indicating the lowest recorded figure in three decades.

 IMB, in its third quarter 2022 piracy report, said it received just 13 reports from the Gulf of Guinea in 2022, compared to 27 in 2021 and 46 in 2020. It stated: “Global piracy and armed robbery incidents in the maritime industry are at their lowest level in decades continuing patterns that emerged over the past two years.” However, the organisation, which tracks piracy and coordinates the reporting of incidents to the authorities, warned against complacency by calling for regional and international players to sustain their efforts to prevent piracy incidents. It also acknowledged the declining spate of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, saying “local initiatives combined with an increased international presence contributed to a continuing decline of reports from the Gulf of Guinea expanding on a two-year trend in the region.”

 It also reported a significant decline in the number of reported incidents in the region of West Africa, which had “emerged as the world’s biggest piracy hotspot in recent years.” The IMB Director, Michael Howlett, said: “We commend the efforts of the coastal authorities of the Gulf of Guinea. While the decline is welcome, sustained and continued efforts of the coastal authorities and the presence of the international navies remain essential to safeguard seafarers and long-term regional and international shipping and trade.”

 IMB added that “while the Gulf of Guinea has seen a continuing decline in reports, incidents in the Singapore Straits are increasing, up by nearly 50 per cent so far in 2022 versus last year.” The IMB data showed that 31 vessels were boarded up from 21 in 2021. Generally, ICC IMB’s latest global quarterly piracy report detailed 90 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the first nine months of 2022, which reached their lowest levels since 1992. Reported incidents were down a further seven per cent versus the first nine months of 2021 when the IMB received a total of 97 reports from ships, the report said.

However, highlighting the need for further action, the number of vessels boarded remained the same at 85 in 2022 versus 2021. In 2022, the pirates were successful in gaining access to the vessels in 95 per cent of the reported incidents. The number of the crew taken hostage increased to 27 in 2022 versus eight in 2021, but in 2021, additional crew of 51 crew members were also taken hostage versus none in 2020. The danger for the crew was nearly equal between ships at anchor (40 incidents) versus that underway (37 incidents). The fewest reports (13) came from berthed vessels. Bulkers are the most vulnerable type of vessel suffered nearly half of the reported attacks (40) this year. Tankers reported the second greatest number of attacks (23) with the least number of reports (10) on containerships. “While these are so far considered low-level opportunistic crimes, with no crew kidnappings or vessel hijackings, littoral states are requested to increase patrols in what is a strategically important waterway for the shipping industry and for global trade,” Howlett said

New threats to Nigeria’s latest feat

The first incident involved the hijack of Motor Tanker (MT) MONJASA REFORMER by pirates on 25 March 2023 at a location 144 nautical mile (nm) West-South West (WSW) of Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, with 12 crew members on board. The Dane-owned vessel registered in Liberia with IMO number 9255878, which had been in the Gulf of Guinea waters since February 14 for petroleum products-related trade, was later rescued by the Nigerian Navy adrift the Island of Principe on 31 March 2023, but the pirates had already abducted six of the crew members.

 The second piracy incident involved the hijacking of MT SUCCESS-9, with 20 crew members, about 306 nm SW of Abidjan Fairway Buoy (FWB), Côte d’Ivoire on 10 April 2023. The Singapore-registered tanker was hijacked midday local time on Monday, 10 April 2023, in the Gulf of Guinea, approximately 300 nautical miles south of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The oil vessel was rescued, with all 20 crew members safe, on 14 April 2023, reportedly 65 nm SE of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and was taken to Abidjan the same day.

 However, to some experts in maritime security, the incidents didn’t come as a surprise because, even before they occurred, the IMB had warned in its report that Nigeria might have had no-incident record on its waters, but all waters in/off it remain highly risky, because “incidents have also been reported up to about 212 nautical miles from Nigeria’s coast.” Not to be taken off-guard, the world maritime body, therefore, urged seafarers to increase their vigilance in protecting their vessels, stating that many hijacking incidents during the year may potentially have gone undetected, and that may be one of the reasons Nigeria had no case in 2022.

No attack will occur on Nigeria’s water, by Navy

Spokesperson of the Nigerian Navy, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan told The Nation that the Navy has taken steps to address the current spike. He said aside sustaining the presence of her capital ships at sea, the Navy has also directed all operation bases to enhance their efforts to dominate their areas of operations. Ayo-Vaughan also said the Navy has equally employed her surveillance infrastructure to monitor shipping activities within the Nigerian Maritime Environment (NME), and exploit intelligence to track activities of criminals in order to maintain the sanctity of the NME.

 “We are confident that our continued presence and dominance at the sea will stop any attack on our waters,” he said. While noting that since no incident of piracy has occurred within NME within the last 12 months, the area is safe for maritime and economic activities; he enjoined seafarers to continue to carry out their legitimate businesses without fear, even as he assured that the Navy would continue to sustain credible presence to deter any form of criminality. He appreciated the efforts of other players including international partners under the Coordinated Maritime Presence arrangement and other maritime stakeholders in securing the NME and GoG in general.

Navy presence at sea not enough, says security expert

However, Nengi James, a security expert in Niger Delta, said the dominance of the Nigerian Navy ships alone on the country’s waters cannot stop or reduce piracy, since many factors are responsible for the achievement recorded last year. “The Navy has always dominated our waters, but that didn’t stop piracy. The reason piracy has reduced in Nigeria water was because the criminals that are involved in piracy have now shifted to oil bunkering. It is the same people that are involved in the illicit activities. They have shifted to bunkering because they found it less risky at this time, and that is why it looks as if piracy has reduced. So, progress recorded is just temporary.”

 He berated security agents for aiding and abetting insecurity in the maritime environment. “The bunkering is striving now because it is in connivance with some security agents. If it is not in connivance with security agents, how do you explain the scenario that some meters to the illegal bunkering sites, there is heavy security by our security men? I believe that if our security agents begin to do what is right, oil bunkering and piracy will stop,” James added.

 Whether the Navy’s efforts at the sea will ward-off piracy and sea robbery on the country’s waters as well as sustain the record achieved in 2022 will be revealed when the IMB publishes its annual report by the end of 2023. 

As a retired general, President Muhammadu Buhari won many hearts when he identified the war against insecurity as one of the three key areas that his administration would focus on if voted into power in 2015. A lot has happened since then in terms of successes recorded; while many old and new challenges remain unsolved. In this special report, NICHOLAS KALU examines the security situation in the country in the last eight years

When President Muhammadu Buhari took over the office in 2015, tackling insecurity was one of the three key areas he identified as the main thrust of his administration. The others were the economy and the war against corruption. That the Buhari administration found it necessary to ensure that insecurity formed one leg of the foundational tripod of his administration came from his background as a retired general and the then the spate of insecurity, which wreaked havoc on the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan that he succeeded.

Since then, the government has had to deal with the problem which had grown into a monstrosity, with a new head seemingly growing whenever an old one has been cut off. Hardly any part of the country is spared of the scourge, with the crippling insurgency in the northern parts of the country and secessionist agitations in the southern parts of the country combining to heat up the polity and make life hellish for the people.

Tackling insecurity

The efforts of the present administration in the fight against insecurity have drawn various responses from various quarters, with a section positing that the situation has not improved from what it was during the last administration; while others feel it has recorded reasonable success. One of the main areas the current administration has prided itself on as one of its major achievements has been its ability to reclaim some of the territories seized by insurgents in the Northeastern parts of the country.

Last week, at a Trooping and Presentation of Colours Parade 2023 by the Nigerian Army in Abuja, President Buhari commended the security agencies for their exceptional performances in the various operations across the country. According to the President, at the inception of his administration, the nation’s security situation was greatly challenged by the activities of violent non-state actors. Highlighting the efforts of his administration in the battle against insecurity, he said, “Today, I am pleased to specially note that the situation has tremendously improved and I wish to also proudly highlight that we have made remarkable progress in the fight against insurgents, militants, oil bunkers, kidnappers and other criminal elements in the country.

“This administration has achieved a remarkable transformation of the military in the areas of fighting power, training, operations, manpower, remunerations and medical services. These are in addition to maintenance efficiency, accommodation and expansion of forces. The improvements in these areas have collectively enhanced the Army’s capacity to effectively carry out its constitutional mandate.

“The fighting power of our Army was at a low ebb as of May 2015. However, seven years later, its fighting power has increased significantly making it fourth in ranking among African militaries as against seventh in 2015. Our interventions and yearly budgetary allocations to the Army between 2020 and 2022 alone have been able to procure hundreds of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, Troops Carrying Vehicles, utility vehicles, tanks and Armoured Personnel Carriers to augment those earlier procured.

“From 2017 to 2022, significant numbers of new fighting and utility vehicles along with supporting artillery guns, machine guns, rifles and corresponding ammunition were acquired and inducted into various theatres of operations. This translates to a significant increment in the Army’s equipment holding since 2015.

“With the significant improvement in the fighting power as a result of the procurement of equipment and mission-specific training, the Army was empowered to rejig its operations. Accordingly, the Army has restructured the conduct of its operations to meet current realities. The quantum of platforms inducted into the Army since 2015 had enabled troops to take the battle to the terrorists and criminals, particularly in the North East resulting in the recapture of territories hitherto held by the insurgents.

“The efforts of the troops leading to unprecedented successes were evident in the increased number of neutralised insurgents and those that voluntarily surrendered alongside their families for radicalization and rehabilitation through Operation SAFE CORRIDOR. This feat has continued to be replicated in other theatres of operation within the country, leading to the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons to their ancestral homes and restoration of economic activities in addition to the contribution of the Nigerian Army to global peace through Peace Support Operations.

“Furthermore, the creation of the Army Aviation is one of the major aspects of the ongoing expansion process in the Nigerian Army. The renewed vigour for the operationalization of the Army Aviation emanated from a strong desire to effectively tackle contemporary security challenges across the country. This unit, when fully operationalized, will provide rapid deployment, close air support, casualty evacuation, and prompt delivery of logistics supply, among other roles.

“As an administration, we have demonstrated commitment to increasing the strength of the Armed Forces in my resolve to secure the country from all challenges. It is instructive to state that from 2015 when I was sworn in as the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Federal Republic of Nigeria, I facilitated the recruitment of over 60,000 soldiers from Depot Nigerian Army aside thousands commissioned from the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna.”

However many would disagree, arguing that despite making it one of the cardinal focuses of his government, so much is still left to be desired as the problem of insecurity continues unabated. The country’s insecurity problems range from terrorism/insurgency, armed banditry, militancy, cultism and ethnic agitations to religious fundamentalism, herder-farmer clashes, and inter-communal clashes. There are also other raging crimes as armed robbery, cultism, and electoral violence, among others. With terrorism in the North-east, banditry and terrorism in the North-west, farmers-herders clashes in the North-central, secessionist agitations and insurgency in the South-east, militancy and kidnapping in the South-south, as well as kidnapping and farmers-herders clashes in the South-west, every part of the country seems to have its fair share of the malaise.

However, the federal government has continued to make efforts to stem the problem. Through the military and other security agencies, the federal government has conducted security operations in all the thirty-six states of the federation and established task forces specifically to deal with the raging problems. In addition, the federal government sought international collaboration through the Multinational Task Force to combat insurgency; while creating non-kinetic engagements such as humanitarian operations and Operation Safe Corridor to encourage defection within the ranks of the insurgents. The establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission, the North East Development Commission, and the Amnesty Programme were parts of the soft approaches the federal government has embarked upon to ameliorate the effects of insecurity in Nigeria. At the state level, some state governments have enacted various legislations to prescribe stiffer punishment for kidnapping and associated crimes, and open grazing as a way of stemming persistent farmers/herders’ clashes. Some state governments established security networks such as Amotekun to complement efforts of regular security forces; while others went into dialogues with armed groups to broker peace deals.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) had set up various operations across the country. These include the Joint Task Force (JTF) North East, tagged Operation HADIN KAI covering the North-east region; the JTF SS, tagged Operation DELTA SAFE covering the South-south region; the JTF NW, known as Operation HADARIN DAJI covering the North-west region; Operation SAFE HAVEN covering Plateau, parts of Kaduna and Bauchi States; Operation WHIRL STROKE covering Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States; JTF SW, referred to as Operation AWATSE and covering Lagos and Ogun States; Operation THUNDER STRIKE covering Abuja-Kaduna Highway and Operation WHIRL PUNCH covering parts of Kaduna State.

Gains

The procurement of modern platforms for the armed forces has also gone a long way in raising the level of their operational readiness and efficiency, in addition to boosting their capabilities. Among other efforts, the Nigerian Army, for instance in 2021, procured 160 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP), 150 trucks and 60 APCs to improve its equipment holding.

This was in addition to the provision of accommodation for troops and the recruitment of over 10,000 personnel into the Army. The Nigerian Navy (NN), inaugurated the FALCON EYE Maritime Domain Awareness Capability, the third locally-built Seaward Defense Boat, one helicopter, 4 inshore patrol boats and 90 Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats. Over 1,500 personnel were recruited into the Navy during the year. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) took delivery of 12 Super Tucanos and 3 JF-17 Thunder Fighter Aircraft and other platforms with which it has conducted several air interdictions, provided close air support to ground troops and destroyed several illegal structures and equipment belonging to terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements.

Still, in the fight against insecurity, the implementation of the community policing initiative of the current administration has led to the training of 25,000 constabularies in several police colleges across the country. The successful officers who were trained on basic police duties, modern intelligence gathering techniques, rule of law, etc. were deployed to their local governments of origin to aid in intelligence gathering and improve police visibility in their communities. Also, through the Police Trust Fund, 200 Buffalo branded vehicles, bulletproof vests, protective helmets, drugs, and medical equipment as well as arms and ammunition, riot control equipment, and combat equipment were procured for the Police Special Weapon and Tactical Squad (SWAT).

Legislative interventions    

With the problem threatening to tear the country apart with daily incidents of terrorism, kidnappings and robberies among others, the legislature felt the need to intervene as the House of Representatives took time to organise a security summit, which came up with far-reaching recommendations. While submitting the report of the summit to President Buhari in 2021, the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the executive and legislative arms of government have been assigned specific roles to help address insecurity in the country.

“As you are aware, we went through a painstaking effort for four-five days and the report came out and we have divided it into both legislative and executive recommendations. As we said from day one, we will bring the report to the President for action on the recommendations and he has graciously accepted and we are hopeful and believe that many of the recommendations, both the legislative and executive, once implemented, will go a long way into resolving some of the issues that pervade our society in terms of security, if not all.

“And what led to the resolution of the summit was because we felt that it was time that we thought outside the box; that we begin to look at issues in a different way as opposed to the traditional ways and that is exactly what we did,” he said.

He said the House of Representatives recommended the establishment of development commissions across the six geo-political zones of the country to help address problems caused by insecurity. “The legislature has about seven recommendations and the executive recommendations are about 19 in all. There are overlapping mandates for instance between the security agencies, which brings confusion on their lines of reporting and those overlapping mandates will be addressed by the House. We have already introduced bills to that effect.

“There’re several recommendations; we’ve agreed to establish zonal commissions in all the zones like the North East Development Commission. We’ll have the South-west, we’ll have the South-South, we’ll have the Southeast, we’ll have the Northwest, and that goes a long way in resolving issues, regional and zonal issues. Everybody must be involved and that’s what Mr. President brought here today. He brought his whole security team and to me that gives me inspiration. It gives the leadership inspiration. We believe that that alone is a sign of good faith,” he had said.

Funding challenge

Despite a chunk of the 2023 appropriation budgeted for defence, the case has still been made that adequate funding remains a critical challenge in the fight against insecurity. The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, said the N2.74tn budgeted for security in the 2023 Appropriation Act is inadequate. Benson, who represents Ikorodu Federal Constituency in Lagos State at the House of Reps, said the capital component of the security budget, especially for the Armed Forces, should be pulled out of the current envelope budget system to enable it to deal with the exigencies of tackling the problem of insecurity.

“As you are aware, the 2023 budget was signed yesterday. Of course, it is about N21tn and 13 per cent of it was earmarked for the defence sector, which came to about N2.74tn. Yes, the money is huge. In fairness, you must continue to spend (on security). Show me a prosperous nation, (and) you will see that security in that country is very high. The budget, though huge in naira terms, converting the money to dollars makes it a bit insignificant.

“You must also be aware that personnel and other costs…the Armed Forces is one of the agencies in the world that takes care of you from when you join (them) till when you die. There is nothing that you buy from your pocket. Even your burial is taken over by the Nigerian Armed Forces. So, Mr President, in his kind wisdom, signed what we called the MAFA (Manual of Financial Administration), which is an enhancement of the welfare of men in service. These are our brothers and sisters who put their lives on the line to make us secure.”

It is pertinent to point out that besides the 2023 budget, the security sector saw the highest allocation in 2022 with a total of N2.49 trillion, up from N1.86 trillion in 2021. A glance at the security budgets over the lifespan of this administration showed a steady increase. In 2015, N948.01 billion was allocated to the sector, with N375.49 billion to defence and N327.56 billion to the police. In 2016, the budget grew to N1.04 trillion. This was the first budget under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. A breakdown of the budget shows that a total of N443.07 billion was allocated to defence and N312.56 billion to the police force.

The budget for the security sector grew further in 2017 to N1.13 trillion; N469.83 was budgeted for defence and N319.01 billion for police. In 2018, N1.28 trillion was allocated to security. The total budget for the defence was N576.39 trillion, while police were allocated N335.40 billion. In the same year, President Buhari authorised the withdrawal of $1 billion from the excess crude oil account, and $496 million was used to procure 12 Tucano fighter jets. In 2019, the security sector was allocated N1.33 trillion. Of the total budget, the federal government allocated N589.95 billion for defence and N371.08 for police.            

The budget for the sector increased to N1.69 trillion in 2020. Of the total allocation, the defence budget rose to N899.91 billion and the police force got N410.48 billion. In 2021, N1.86 trillion was allocated to the sector, out of which N964.05 was allocated to defence and N455.13 billion to the police force. The sector also got a supplementary budget of N802 billion. In the same year, the implementation of the Police Trust Fund commenced, with a total of N11 billion approved for the fund in March and another N74 billion was approved in June. In 2022, the budget almost doubled 2022 with N2.49 trillion allocated to the sector. The allocation to defence also rose to N1.19 trillion and the police sector got N783.85 billion.

Unfinished business

Despite the huge sums expended on the security sector, it appears the problems have persisted, albeit to a lesser degree. This, security experts, have attributed to the lack of oversight in the security sector. Some of them who spoke with The Nation blamed the seeming deteriorating situation on poor utilisation of the defence budget in addition to lack of accountability and oversight.

“It is not about the money. The question is, how is the money spent? So much money is given to the security sector, but how is it used? This is where the gap lies. There seems to be an absence of oversight from the President and the Minister of Defence,” a source who preferred anonymity said.

With the elections done and dusted, it is apparent the nation’s security challenges remain an ever-present malady. As noted earlier, a section of society is of the opinion that not much has been achieved in the bid by the present administration to stem the ever-present challenge. However, others believe that although it is not yet Uhuru, the country has made significant progress for instance by reclaiming some territories that were under the control of insurgents in the Northeast, as well as whittling down cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

According to a security expert, while procuring weaponry to continually boost a state of battle readiness is essential, more attention should be paid to non-kinetic attempts to deal with the situation. “There should be a softer approach, which principally should aim at improving the lives of the people. This would automatically reduce insecurity across the country. Security agencies should be defunded not in the sense that money should not be given to them again, but they should be in the sense that the less money goes to them and more goes to improving the quality of life for the people, the less likely we would have problems with insecurity. The problem is still ravaging the country. Though the tempo seems to have dropped, it is not time for the country to drop the ball. As a new administration takes over the helm of affairs in the country, my advice is that more attention be paid to this. It is a much surer way of ensuring a secure country for all in the long run,” a security expert, Effiong Bassey, opined.