Nigeria and China said this week they will cooperate in efforts to crack down on the increasing number of Chinese nationals taking part in financial crimes in the African country.
The joint effort comes after Chinese Ambassador Yu Dunhai visited Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, in Abuja.
In a statement posted to the EFCC website Tuesday, Dunhai expressed regret over the rising trend of Chinese nationals engaged in financial crimes in Nigeria.
He assured Nigerian authorities that the Chinese government is ready to send delegates to work with local law enforcement agencies to address the issue.
At the same time, Dunhai urged authorities to protect the rights of Chinese citizens while investigations are conducted.
Since November, Nigerian authorities have arrested at least 400 Chinese nationals suspected of cybercrime, telecom fraud and illegal mining. Many of them are facing trial.
But Nigerian political analyst Chukwudi Odoeme warned that China’s influence over the process could undermine the rule of law.
“The collaboration looks good, but then the relationship between Nigeria and China is something that is suspicious in this particular arrangement,” Odoeme said. “The collaboration may be defeated in the sense that China will have undue influence, and it may even lead to political release of those persons instead of subjecting them through the criminal trial system in Nigeria.”
China is Nigeria’s largest trading partner by value, with trade totaling $5 billion in 2023.
In the first quarter of last year, Chinese companies provided 23% of Nigeria’s total imports.
Critics argue that Chinese nationals are exploiting trade routes and immigration loopholes to enter Nigeria illegally and engage in criminal activities.
Authorities say many of the arrested Chinese nationals were found to be living in Nigeria without proper documentation.
Public affairs analyst Jaye Gaskia raised concerns about the transparency of the collaboration.
“On what basis are you going into this collaboration? For what purpose?” he asked. “The conversations around trying to develop such collaborative strategies also need to be transparent, so that citizens will be able to interrogate the process to see whether national interest is going to be somehow undermined.
“We have to be careful, and we have to ensure who does the prosecution,” Gaskia said. “The best-case scenario is for the country not to cede its own sovereignty in terms of how this is going to happen.”
Nigeria’s debt to China exceeds $5 billion — more than the bilateral loans owed to all other countries combined.
Meanwhile, Nigeria is seeking China’s backing to join the grouping of the world’s 20 largest economies, the G20, and secure a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
But political analyst Rotimi Olawale believes the debt should not influence how Nigeria handles criminal cases.
“I don’t think that the debt we owe China, $5 billion, will affect anything,” Olawale said. “That’s government-to-government relations. The most important thing is that the case should not be politicized. We must clearly define our rules and uphold our laws.”
Previously, Nigeria’s parliament called for the mass deportation of illegal Chinese migrants.
By Timothy Obiezu, VOA
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Nigeria strikes $200 million deal to power rural areas with renewable mini grids
Nigeria has agreed to $200 million deal with WeLight, a pan-African Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) company to deploy hundreds of renewable mini grids, aimed at bringing reliable electricity to millions in rural communities and those surrounding urban centres.
Africa's most populous country, seeking to increase its renewable energy share of its electricity mix from 22% to 50% and securing financing from private investments for this purpose, sees this deal as an important step in this regard.
The project backed by the World Bank and the African Development Bank will develop and operate 400 mini grids and 50 MetroGrids across Nigeria's mostly rural areas to improve electricity access to an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people and boost local economies.
WeLight, backed by major international players like Axian Group, Sagemcom, and Norfund said it signed on Monday a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nigeria's Rural Electrification Agency (REA), a government agency tasked with helping millions of Nigerians without electricity.
“This MOU not only represents a leap toward providing clean electricity to millions in Nigeria but also supports WeLight’s ambition to become a truly pan-African company,” said Romain de Villeneuve, Chief Executive Officer of WeLight in a statement.
By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters
Africa's most populous country, seeking to increase its renewable energy share of its electricity mix from 22% to 50% and securing financing from private investments for this purpose, sees this deal as an important step in this regard.
The project backed by the World Bank and the African Development Bank will develop and operate 400 mini grids and 50 MetroGrids across Nigeria's mostly rural areas to improve electricity access to an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people and boost local economies.
WeLight, backed by major international players like Axian Group, Sagemcom, and Norfund said it signed on Monday a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nigeria's Rural Electrification Agency (REA), a government agency tasked with helping millions of Nigerians without electricity.
“This MOU not only represents a leap toward providing clean electricity to millions in Nigeria but also supports WeLight’s ambition to become a truly pan-African company,” said Romain de Villeneuve, Chief Executive Officer of WeLight in a statement.
Thieves Are Hitting Nigeria's Gas Lines. But Not to Steal Gas
Gangs of thieves are tapping the pipelines that feed Africa’s biggest liquefied natural gas plant, collecting condensate — a hydrocarbon more desirable locally than crude — in a dangerous pursuit that’s sent Nigeria’s LNG exports plummeting.
Criminal groups have for decades targeted the oil pipelines that criss-cross the country’s Niger Delta region, but a government crackdown on crude theft has driven them to gas conduits where they seek an ultra-light form of oil that’s easy to process at makeshift refineries.
The surge in activity has crippled gas supply to Nigeria LNG Ltd., a joint venture owned by Nigeria, TotalEnergies SE, Shell Plc and Eni SpA.
“It is a very high risk, very dangerous operation, that’s not always successful. But when it’s successful, they make a lot of money,” said Effiong Okon, managing director of ANOH gas plant, a Seplat Energy Plc subsidiary that operates a $700 million gas project in the area. Decades ago, he was part of an engineering group at Shell that rerouted condensate flows to avoid such theft.
NLNG was held up as a model state-backed enterprise when exports of the super-chilled fuel started in 1999, but its footprint has dwindled. Nigeria accounted for 3.5% of the total global LNG supply last year, steadily decreasing from 6% in 2020, according to BNEF.
At the same time, plans are under way to boost condensate output, which doesn’t count against the oil-production quota Nigeria agreed to as a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Africa’s biggest producer aims to reach a combined output target of 3 million barrels a day — half condensate — Minister of State for Petroleum Heineken Lokpobiri said last month.
The rise of illegal operations adds another obstacle to increasing that production.
Eight-Year Low
NLNG exports tumbled in February, according to commodities tracking company ICIS. That month, the plant only received one-fifth of its gas supply, forcing a shutdown of processing units.
While five of its six production units are back up, a disruption of several months of all NLNG exports would have “a significant impact on the global gas markets,” said Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a researcher at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
The vandalism potentially threatens supply for a seventh NLNG unit that’s under construction, along with existing supply contracts and other planned projects to develop the fuel.
“Security issues may put in question future investments in the gas industry in Nigeria, especially if Nigeria wants to expand its LNG exports,” said Corbeau, citing a glut of projects planned globally and additional LNG exports from the US backed by President Donald Trump.
Crude-theft Crackdown
For decades, crude theft has sparked conflict, exacerbated environmental devastation caused by oil companies, stoked corruption and robbed the country of billions of dollars in revenue a year.
In 2022, as Nigeria struggled to meet its OPEC quota, the head of the national oil company estimated that it could be producing as much as 700,000 barrels a day more if not for criminals stealing crude and oil companies holding back for fear of theft.
Since coming into office in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu has increased security at the oil pipelines, sparking a rebound in output — a boost of more than 40% from three years ago — that exceeded Nigeria’s OPEC production pledge in January.
Some of the security measures have been war-like: using drones and fighter jets to drop bombs on illegal refining sites that dot the delta, while on the ground, private security firms managed by former militants — who used to blow up the pipelines and hold workers for ransom — have ensured better protection of the main crude lines.
“Improved security at the oil pipelines is pushing criminals in other directions,” said Salahuddeen Tahir, head of assets and investments management at NNPC Gas & Power Investment, a unit of the national oil company.
While in the past gangs tapped oil pipelines with tools and hacksaws, today’s gas thieves shows signs of more sophisticated engineering skills — in line with the more dangerous nature of the work.
“These pipelines operate at high pressure, and any rupture poses a significant risk of explosion or uncontrolled fire,” said Claudio Steuer, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and former general manager at Shell Nigeria.
Condensate can sell for as much as Nigeria’s expensive crude grades like Forcados and Bonny Light and is easily refined or fed straight into generators. The fuel is sold on the streets of most southern cities like Port Harcourt and Aba.
Olu Verheijen, Tinubu’s aide on energy, said the government is dealing with the attacks, but declined to give details. NLNG is working with government agencies “to strengthen the security of upstream production and transmission assets,” it said in a statement.
Criminals are willing to face significant danger even though they’re usually accessing small volumes of condensate, said Okon, of Anoh Gas Plant.
Gangs install valves that slow down the pressure on the lines before cutting through pipes to leak out gas so they can collect the condensate at the bottom.
“High risk, high reward,” he said.
By Nduka Orjinmo, Bloomberg
Criminal groups have for decades targeted the oil pipelines that criss-cross the country’s Niger Delta region, but a government crackdown on crude theft has driven them to gas conduits where they seek an ultra-light form of oil that’s easy to process at makeshift refineries.
The surge in activity has crippled gas supply to Nigeria LNG Ltd., a joint venture owned by Nigeria, TotalEnergies SE, Shell Plc and Eni SpA.
“It is a very high risk, very dangerous operation, that’s not always successful. But when it’s successful, they make a lot of money,” said Effiong Okon, managing director of ANOH gas plant, a Seplat Energy Plc subsidiary that operates a $700 million gas project in the area. Decades ago, he was part of an engineering group at Shell that rerouted condensate flows to avoid such theft.
NLNG was held up as a model state-backed enterprise when exports of the super-chilled fuel started in 1999, but its footprint has dwindled. Nigeria accounted for 3.5% of the total global LNG supply last year, steadily decreasing from 6% in 2020, according to BNEF.
At the same time, plans are under way to boost condensate output, which doesn’t count against the oil-production quota Nigeria agreed to as a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Africa’s biggest producer aims to reach a combined output target of 3 million barrels a day — half condensate — Minister of State for Petroleum Heineken Lokpobiri said last month.
The rise of illegal operations adds another obstacle to increasing that production.
Eight-Year Low
NLNG exports tumbled in February, according to commodities tracking company ICIS. That month, the plant only received one-fifth of its gas supply, forcing a shutdown of processing units.
While five of its six production units are back up, a disruption of several months of all NLNG exports would have “a significant impact on the global gas markets,” said Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a researcher at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
The vandalism potentially threatens supply for a seventh NLNG unit that’s under construction, along with existing supply contracts and other planned projects to develop the fuel.
“Security issues may put in question future investments in the gas industry in Nigeria, especially if Nigeria wants to expand its LNG exports,” said Corbeau, citing a glut of projects planned globally and additional LNG exports from the US backed by President Donald Trump.
Crude-theft Crackdown
For decades, crude theft has sparked conflict, exacerbated environmental devastation caused by oil companies, stoked corruption and robbed the country of billions of dollars in revenue a year.
In 2022, as Nigeria struggled to meet its OPEC quota, the head of the national oil company estimated that it could be producing as much as 700,000 barrels a day more if not for criminals stealing crude and oil companies holding back for fear of theft.
Since coming into office in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu has increased security at the oil pipelines, sparking a rebound in output — a boost of more than 40% from three years ago — that exceeded Nigeria’s OPEC production pledge in January.
Some of the security measures have been war-like: using drones and fighter jets to drop bombs on illegal refining sites that dot the delta, while on the ground, private security firms managed by former militants — who used to blow up the pipelines and hold workers for ransom — have ensured better protection of the main crude lines.
“Improved security at the oil pipelines is pushing criminals in other directions,” said Salahuddeen Tahir, head of assets and investments management at NNPC Gas & Power Investment, a unit of the national oil company.
While in the past gangs tapped oil pipelines with tools and hacksaws, today’s gas thieves shows signs of more sophisticated engineering skills — in line with the more dangerous nature of the work.
“These pipelines operate at high pressure, and any rupture poses a significant risk of explosion or uncontrolled fire,” said Claudio Steuer, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and former general manager at Shell Nigeria.
Condensate can sell for as much as Nigeria’s expensive crude grades like Forcados and Bonny Light and is easily refined or fed straight into generators. The fuel is sold on the streets of most southern cities like Port Harcourt and Aba.
Olu Verheijen, Tinubu’s aide on energy, said the government is dealing with the attacks, but declined to give details. NLNG is working with government agencies “to strengthen the security of upstream production and transmission assets,” it said in a statement.
Criminals are willing to face significant danger even though they’re usually accessing small volumes of condensate, said Okon, of Anoh Gas Plant.
Gangs install valves that slow down the pressure on the lines before cutting through pipes to leak out gas so they can collect the condensate at the bottom.
“High risk, high reward,” he said.
Nigeria in Talks to Extend Contract to Sell Crude to Dangote Refinery
Nigeria is in talks with the Dangote Refinery to extend a contract to sell crude in local currency to the plant, the biggest in Africa.
“Discussions are currently ongoing towards emplacing a new contract,” the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. said in a statement late Monday. The agreement, first signed in October, expires at the end of March.
It was put in place to reduce pressure on the naira and improve supply of crude to the giant Dangote Refinery, which has a capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily.
At least 48 million barrels of crude has been supplied to the refinery since the agreement was signed and in aggregate more than 84 million barrels since its commencement of operations in 2023, the NNPC said.
By Ruth Olurounbi, Bloomberg
“Discussions are currently ongoing towards emplacing a new contract,” the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. said in a statement late Monday. The agreement, first signed in October, expires at the end of March.
It was put in place to reduce pressure on the naira and improve supply of crude to the giant Dangote Refinery, which has a capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily.
At least 48 million barrels of crude has been supplied to the refinery since the agreement was signed and in aggregate more than 84 million barrels since its commencement of operations in 2023, the NNPC said.
Related story: Nigeria's richest man Aliko Dangote takes on the 'oil mafia'
Nigeria to appoint ambassadors, 18 months after worldwide recall
Nigeria's government has started vetting potential candidates to lead its more than 100 diplomatic missions, with appointments expected "very soon", 18 months after President Bola Tinubu recalled all ambassadors, sources familiar with the matter said.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in West Africa, has operated without ambassadors since September 2023.
The minister of foreign affairs has previously blamed a lack of funds for the delay in naming new diplomats.
A government source told Reuters that the issue "is being resolved" and "that means the appointment will be announced very soon."
Nigeria's security services were conducting background checks on possible appointees and had started sharing their findings with the relevant agencies within the presidency and legislature, an intelligence official told Reuters.
A spokesperson from the presidency referred questions to the foreign affairs ministry, which declined to comment. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak on the matter.
Since coming to power in May 2023, Tinubu has prioritised fixing Nigeria's struggling economy, with foreign policy taking a back seat, said a former ambassador who served in Africa and the United States.
The government has this year budgeted 302.4 billion naira ($198.30 million) to run its foreign missions.
The former Nigerian ambassador said he was informed by government officials that the issue of the absence of ambassadors in their countries had come up in discussions between Tinubu and some foreign leaders.
"Assurance had been given that they will soon be appointed," said the former ambassador, who declined to be named.
By Ope Adetayo, Reuters
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in West Africa, has operated without ambassadors since September 2023.
The minister of foreign affairs has previously blamed a lack of funds for the delay in naming new diplomats.
A government source told Reuters that the issue "is being resolved" and "that means the appointment will be announced very soon."
Nigeria's security services were conducting background checks on possible appointees and had started sharing their findings with the relevant agencies within the presidency and legislature, an intelligence official told Reuters.
A spokesperson from the presidency referred questions to the foreign affairs ministry, which declined to comment. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak on the matter.
Since coming to power in May 2023, Tinubu has prioritised fixing Nigeria's struggling economy, with foreign policy taking a back seat, said a former ambassador who served in Africa and the United States.
The government has this year budgeted 302.4 billion naira ($198.30 million) to run its foreign missions.
The former Nigerian ambassador said he was informed by government officials that the issue of the absence of ambassadors in their countries had come up in discussions between Tinubu and some foreign leaders.
"Assurance had been given that they will soon be appointed," said the former ambassador, who declined to be named.
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