- For more successes, the Navy said the operations bases and FOBs have been directed to double their efforts and step up intelligence gathering and security patrols to frustrate the oil thieves perpetrating illegalities in their various areas of responsibilities.
In 2015, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas launched the force’s strategic directive 2015-1, aimed at providing security in the maritime sector, ensure effective monitoring of the nation’s waterways and sustain its effort to maintain credible presence at sea.
After four years, the Nigerian Navy says it has been able to effectively police the nation’s waterways and ensure that the maritime sector is safe.
According to the Nigerian Navy, it has impounded and destroyed illegally refined crude oil valued at N8.4 billion between January and June 2019. The navy has destroyed and impounded 131,085.06 barrels of crude oil and about 29,612,202 litres of illegally refined products during its anti-crude oil theft campaign. It also destroyed 227 illegal refineries, 2,688 storage facilities, 364 wooden boats and impounded 11 barges and 32 vessels.
These figures, the navy’s spokesman, Commodore Suleman Dahun, said represent a significant increase compared with the Nigerian Navy’s anti-Crude Oil Theft (COT) efforts in 2018, where the service destroyed a total of 344 illegal refineries, 1,003 storage facilities, 68 wooden boats and impounded five barges and 25 vessels involved in suspected crude oil theft. Also, a total of 187,084.59 bbls of crude oil and about 11,879,500 litres of illegally refined products valued at about N6.1 billion were destroyed in the course of the anti-COT efforts in 2018.
This year, 227 illegal refineries have been destroyed, in the first and second quarters, representing about 34.01 per cent decrease compared with the 344 illegal refineries destroyed in the same period in 2018.
Dahun said the decrease was largely due to the extensive swamp buggy operations carried out by officers and men of its bases, the NNS Pathfinder and NNS Delta.
He said: “The increase in the quantity of crude oil and illegally refined products as well as the number of storage tanks, illegal refineries and wooden boats destroyed are attributable to the sustained patrol efforts and intelligence gathering techniques by the bases as earlier mentioned, which have made it difficult to move out stolen products from the backwaters/creeks to the sea.”
For more successes, the Navy said the operations bases and FOBs have been directed to double their efforts and step up intelligence gathering and security patrols to frustrate the oil thieves perpetrating illegalities in their various areas of responsibilities.
In the area of anti-smuggling efforts, the Nigerian Navy recorded a significant decrease in the first half of 2019 when compared with the first half of 2018. With the NNS Victory, FOB Ibaka, and FOB Badagry, the navy intercepted and seized a total of 6,290 bags of rice in the first half of 2019, representing about 54.62 per cent decrease when compared with the 13,681 bags of rice seized in 2018. Similarly, there was a marginal decrease observed in the smuggling of petroleum products in the first six months of 2019 when compared with the same period in 2018. Petroleum products totalling about 924,322 litres were seized in the first half of 2019, representing 13.05 per cent decrease when compared with about 1,063,075 litres of smuggled petroleum products intercepted and seized within the same period in 2018.
Dahun said: “It is noteworthy to state that the sustained anti-smuggling operations by the naval bases recorded significant decrease in smuggled rice and a marginal decrease in petroleum products in the first half of 2019 when compared with the same period in 2018.
“The reduction in smuggling activities could be attributed to the intensified anti-smuggling patrol efforts of NN bases geared towards complete eradication of all forms of criminalities within their various areas of operation.
“It is pertinent to note that criminals in Badagry area known for smuggling of premium motor spirit (PMS) usually siphoned from Atlas Cove are beginning to venture into the smuggling of other goods lately. For instance, there have been five major interceptions and seizures comprising two seizures of smuggled rice and three of smuggled poultry products during the period within FOB Badagry area of operations.”
To ensure that the activities of smugglers are curtailed, Nigerian Navy bases have been directed to step up intelligence gathering efforts and ensure sustained patrols of the seaward flanks of their area of operations. Additionally, these units have also been directed to sustain their anti-smuggling patrols, with a view to arresting more suspects in their respective area of operations.
Records show that the anti-piracy/sea robbery operations conducted by Nigerian Navy vessels and operations bases led to slight decrease in piracy/sea robbery incidents in the first half of 2019, compared with the same period in 2018. For instance, in 2018, a total of 38 incidents of piracy/sea robbery were recorded from January to June 2018, with 10 incidents, representing 26.3 per cent, successful and 28 incidents, representing 73.7 per cent, unsuccessful. On the other hand, within the same period in 2019, a total of 29 incidents were reported, with 11, representing 38 per cent, successful and 18, representing 62 per cent, unsuccessful. The slight increase in successful attacks in the first and second quarters of 2019, when compared with the same period in 2018, could have been due to possible compromise and complicity of ship’s crew in some of the reported piracy incidents. This position was arrived at after some investigations showed that some attacked merchant vessels may have intentionally failed to position lookouts, carry out evasive manoeuvers or muster the whole ship’s crew in the citadel to avoid being abducted.
For more effective operations, the navy is working towards acquiring drones and integration programme to enhance operations through early warning, which would, in turn, reduce reaction time for Nigerian Navy platforms.
