Pirates in Nigeria Switch From Kidnapping Seafarer to Stealing Oil

The Gulf of Guinea is witnessing a shift in the dynamics of piracy, with criminal networks moving away from targeting commercial maritime and switching to oil bunkering, theft and illegal fishing, a development that indicates the global community must remain vigilant.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) has been informed that despite a significant drop in piracy incidents in the Gulf of Guinea in recent times, stronger action is still required to address the changing dynamics of piracy in the vast waters. Criminal groups have not gone away, but have transitioned to other activities.

Martha Pobee, an Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs in the UN who presented the Secretary-General’s latest report on piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, warned that the shifting dynamics will require greater response not only from countries in the region but also from international partners.

“Pirate groups are adapting to changing dynamics both at sea and in coastal areas. In this respect, the recent decrease in instances of piracy may in part be attributable to the shift by criminal networks to other forms of maritime and riverine crime, such as oil bunkering and theft, which they likely view as both less risky and more profitable,” she said.

Nigeria has witnessed an unprecedented surge in large scale cases of oil theft and pipeline vandalism, whose impacts have been crippling of the country’s oil industry, with production in the months of August and September plummeting below one million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest levels in decades. An investigation by the country's senate reckons the widespread cases of thefts have resulted in Nigeria losing more than $2 billion during the first eight months of this year.

Once a hotspot of maritime piracy, the Gulf of Guinea has recorded a drastic decline in incidents due to concerted efforts by national authorities supported by regional and international partners, both on land and at sea. Actions such as increased patrols, deployment of naval assets, enhanced coordination as well as convictions have served as deterrents to criminal networks.

In a quarterly report released last month, the International Maritime Bureau contends that although global piracy and armed robbery incidents have reached their lowest levels since 1992, the world cannot afford to be complacent, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea. Of the 90 incidents reported in the first nine months of 2022, 13 were in the Gulf of Guinea region compared to 27 over the same period of 2021.

In her report to the UNSC, Pobee reports that due to the changing dynamics of criminal activities in the Gulf of Guinea, it is imperative for states and their regional and international partners to accelerate efforts to establish security in the region as outlined in the Yaoundé Code of Conduct, signed in June 2013.

The code, which is approaching its 10th anniversary, promotes information sharing and reporting, interdicting suspicious vessels, ensuring apprehension and prosecution, harmonizing national legislation, guaranteeing resources to maritime security and safety, and outlining state responsibility to patrol anchorage areas.

Part of recent measures to wage a coordinated war against the piracy networks include the signing of an agreement to establish a Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre for a zone covering Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Senegal and conducting a maritime exercise involving 17 of the 19 countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea.

The Maritime Executive

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Syinix launches swallow-maker into Nigeria market

Syinix Electronics, the global smart home appliance brand has announced the launch of its first entry point appliance, Syinix Swallow Maker, to help in the preparation of swallow foods and solve the difficulties of making swallow foods such as fufu, amala, pounded yam, semovita, semolina, and wheat, amongst others for Nigerians.

The innovative Swallow Maker is designed to replace the usually tedious and time-consuming old ways of preparing swallow foods with a fully automated machine that requires minimal human effort.

Fulfilling its promise of a comfortable” and “relieved” life experience, Syinix developed the swallow maker for families to truly live a quality life and prepare their swallow foods with the speed of time and still enjoy their meals.

Speaking about the product launch, Justin Liu, Chief Operating Officer, Syinix Nigeria, noted that the swallow maker is the first all-purpose automated swallow food maker in the world.

“The Syinix Swallow Maker is here to save your time and energy; the machine encourages creative cooking and users can try a combination of ingredients and recipes with no health implications to consumers,” he stated

Continuing, he said, “Syinix is a high-end home appliance brand with spread to more than 20 countries in Africa and its features of high quality and innovation are becoming increasingly competitive and promising in the African market in recent years”.

“Our brand’s vision is to provide African families with reliable products that seek to improve their value of life. It’s in the bid for continuous improvement that the Syinix Swallow Maker was birthed to keep improving the customers’ lifestyles and putting smiles on their faces through the creation of innovative home appliances with superior quality products, Liu said.

Ease the swallow-making experience with varieties

Syinix Swallow Maker is an all-purpose latest development by Syinix for Nigerians to ease the stress of making swallow foods. It offers speedy preparation and reduces the time spent in the kitchen with a smarter and cleaner experience—alongside useful features which include an automatic intricate food processor that saves time and energy.

The all-purpose Swallow Maker supports the making of varieties of most of Nigeria’s common solid foods such as eba, amala, pounded yam, semovita/semolina, wheat, fufu, etc. Beyond that, you can also be creative with other dishes of your choice using this machine and still have more time and energy to do other things while waiting for the meal.

Efficient and stable operating system with a large capacity design

It is equipped with a top cover power system, motor, and gearbox for machine operation, transmission power; knob timing button, etc. to control the production time with stainless steel stirring knife set to ensure that every time the ingredients are fully stirred and smooth, delicate and soft without any sense of grain or lumps.

It comes with a base heating plate that fills the whole pot with heat to cook the food and it has a large capacity designed to cater to 4-5 families at a go.

Easy to clean with a better Interactive Experience

Built with a simple interior for easy separation after use; the Syinix Swallow maker is stylishly designed for easy cleaning with non-stick coating which makes for convenient cleaning.

The transparent view window on the lid enables visualization while the exhaust valve is designed to allow automatic evaporation of food vapor to ensure the smooth release of ingredients from the machine while users can see the ingredients mixing process till it is ready to serve.

Market availability

Syinix Swallow Maker is available in Syinix official store at https://ng.syinix.com/products/syinix-swallow-maker-all-purpose-fufu-machine and in any SPAR mall or Cash N carry outlets.

The Guardian

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New bank note launched in Nigeria to help curb corruption

Nigeria has launched newly designed currency notes, a move that the West African nation’s central bank says will help curb inflation and money laundering.

Experts, however, are sceptical about such results in a country that has battled chronic corruption for decades, with government officials known to loot public funds causing more hardship for the many struggling with poverty.

Launched on Wednesday, the new denominations of 200 ($0.46), 500 ($1.15) and 1,000 naira ($2.30) are the first time Nigeria’s currency has been redesigned in 19 years. The banknotes will be in circulation by mid-December.

The naira is “long overdue for a new look,” Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said at the launch. The new paper notes designed in Nigeria and featuring enhanced security “will help the central bank to design and implement better monetary policy objectives”.

More than 80 percent of the 3.2 trillion naira ($7.2bn) in circulation in Nigeria are outside the vaults of commercial banks and in private hands, said Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

With inflation at a 17-year high of 21.09 percent that is driven by soaring food prices, he said the new notes “will bring the hoarded currencies back into the banking system” and help the central bank regain control of the money being used in the country.

Regulators last month announced a January 31 deadline for old notes to either be used or deposited at banks.

“The currency redesign will also assist in the fight against corruption as the exercise will reign in the higher denomination used for corruption and the movement of such funds from the banking system could be tracked easily,” Emefiele said.

Analysts, however, say the new notes would yield little or no results in managing inflation or in the fight against corruption in the absence of institutional reforms.

“If you want to curb money laundering, your financial system needs to be better; if you want to curb ransom payment, security needs to be better; if you want to curb inflation, the level at which the total money supply in the economy is growing has to slow down — so it is not about cash,” said Adedayo Bakare, an analyst with Lagos-based Money Africa.

The newly designed denominations would also drive financial inclusion and economic growth, the central bank chief said.

But Bakare said the move by Nigeria’s central bank is at best an “expensive process that will cost the public a lot of pain because of the short period” required to either use or deposit cash in circulation.

At least 133 million people, or 63 percent of Nigeria’s citizens, are multidimensionally poor, according to government statistics.

“It could potentially slow down the economy if people do not have cash and people cannot exchange their cash for new notes at a fast pace,” he said. “You can’t phase out cash without fixing financial inclusion or electronic payment and even at that.”

AP

Nigerians with expired passports now allowed to travel back to Nigeria

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Tuesday said that Nigerians in diaspora with expired passport would no longer require visas to visit home.

The Service, however, stated that they must show their expired Nigeria’s passport to ensure they were truly from Nigeria.

Mr Tony Akuneme, the NIS Public Relations Officer, disclosed this in an interview with Newsmen in Abuja.

Akuneme was reacting to inquiries about the new visa policy of the Federal Government which said that Nigerians with dual citizenship don’t need visa to visit home.

“The statu of the new policy is that Nigerians with dual citizenship are free to come to Nigeria but with their Nigeria passport even if it’s expired.

“You have to show that you are a Nigerian, that is why we say they can come with their expired passport. Dual citizenship means carrying two passports.

“Unlike before that when your passport is expired you will not be allowed to come to the country, now we can allow them to travel in with their expired Nigeria passport”, he said.

Akuneme further explained that although the essence was to allow them return home, they will be required to renew the passport before returning to their destinations.

“The whole essence is that when they arrive, they must renew their Nigeria passport before going back,” the NIS spokesman added. 

Vanguard

Oil drilling starts in Nigeria by government ownded company

Nigeria's state-owned NNPC Ltd on Tuesday started drilling for oil and gas at a field in northern Nigeria that has reserves of 1 billion barrels, as the country seeks to produce crude outside the Niger Delta for the first time.

NNPC said in a statement that phase one of the Kolmani project in the northeast would have an oil refinery, gas processing unit, 300-megawatt power plant and fertilizer plant producing 2,500 tonnes a day.

NNPC Ltd first announced in 2019 the discovery of crude oil, gas and condensate in commercial quantity in the Kolmani area between Bauchi and Gombe states in northeastern Nigeria, a region that is battling an Islamist insurgency.

President Muhammadu Buhari said Kolmani had 1 billion barrels of oil reserves and 500 billion cubic feet of gas.

No oil major is involved in the project being developed by NNPC, local firm Sterling Global Oil and New Nigeria Development Commission, a conglomerate owned by 19 northern states.


"It is therefore to the credit of this administration that at a time when there is near zero appetite for investment in fossil energy, coupled with the location challenges, we are able attract investment of over $3 billion to this project," Buhari said at a ceremony to start the oil project.

Nigeria has for years been searching for oil in frontier basins in the largely poor north of the country, including the Lake Chad Basin, the heartland of the Islamist insurgency.

Buhari urged NNPC and its partners to work with local communities and draw lessons from the restive Niger Delta, where militants have in the past blown up pipelines, accusing oil companies of neglecting locals.

Oil was first discovered in the Niger Delta more than six decades ago.

Oil majors in Nigeria are divesting from onshore to focus on offshore drilling due to increasing insecurity and oil theft, which have led to a decline in production and caused Nigeria to lose its status as Africa's top oil producer.

Reuters, by Felix Onuah

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