India says Nigeria is 'natural' partner as Modi visits

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu pledged to deepen their strategic partnership on Sunday, as Modi made his first visit to the West African country.

New Delhi said Modi's trip represented a meeting of the largest democracy in the world and the largest one in Africa, dubbing the two as "natural partners."

The visit comes amid a revived push by both India and Nigeria for permanent representation on the UN Security Council and as India seeks to find its place in a multipolar world.

"Together we will also continue to highlight at the global level the priorities of the Global South and thanks to our joint efforts, we will achieve success as well in this," Modi said.

During the meeting, both leaders said they sought to usher in a new chapter in the two countries' relationship in the areas of defense, energy, technology, trade and development.

Modi and Tinubu also pledged greater collaboration in counterterrorism, maritime security and intelligence sharing. It is meant to help both countries cope with growing threats in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea, which is one of the world's most dangerous areas for piracy.
 

New title for Modi in Nigeria

Modi was welcomed to the Nigerian presidency by a military pipe band and honor guard, before entering closed-door talks with Tinubu and senior officials at his Aso Rock residence.

The Nigerian president conferred on Modi the title of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, the country's second-highest national honor, describing Modi as a representation of a "very strong commitment to democratic values and norms."

"Nigeria values its excellent relationship with India and will work to broaden the same for the mutual benefits of our two friendly countries," Tinubu said.

As Africa has become a theatre of competition between the US, Europe, as well as Russia, Turkey and especially China, India too has sought to make some inroads in the continent.

Ahead of the trip, Modi's office boasted that more than 200 Indian companies had invested $27 billion (€25.6 billion) in Nigerian manufacturing, becoming major employers.

Nigeria is also India's largest trading partner in Africa with total bilateral trade estimated at $14.9 billion in 2022.

At least 60,000 Indian nationals and 200 Indian companies are present in Nigeria, authorities say.

DW

Nigeria lifts oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day

Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC said on Thursday it had increased oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), with the possibility of getting to two million bpd by year-end.

Oil production at Africa's top crude exporter was estimated at 1.3 million bpd in October, according to producer group OPEC's latest report. Nigeria often counts condensate production of around 250,000 bpd as part of its production.

The NNPC said the increase was a result of collaborative efforts with its joint venture operators and its partners on production-sharing contracts, alongside security agencies and the government.

"The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders," NNPC CEO Mele Kyari told a press briefing.

Nigeria has been battling crude theft in its Niger Delta production region, sabotage, and local unrest, which has hampered output growth.

In June, NNPC set up a 'war room' to coordinate efforts of oil partners, the government and private security personnel to stem crude theft. Since then, several vessels used in stealing crude have been destroyed and some illegal refiners arrested.

Kyari said the interventions across every segment of the production chain, supported by rigorous pipeline monitoring from security agencies, had been critical to the recovery.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Convicted Nigerian Pirate Charged Again for Second Hijacking

A Nigerian pirate who was convicted and sentenced for hijacking a Dutch freighter has been charged again in connection with a previous piracy incident in 2017.

The case has been in motion for more than six years. South African police arrested pirate action group leader Itoruboemi Benson Lobia at an airport in Johannesburg in late 2018, acting on an Interpol warrant issued by the Netherlands. A South African court approved his extradition, and in 2022, a Dutch court convicted Lobia of the hijacking and kidnapping attack aboard the FWN Rapide. The Dutch-flagged freighter was attacked by pirates off Port Harcourt in 2018, and the criminals held the 11 crewmembers hostage during a month-long series of ransom negotiations. The operator, ForestWave, reportedly paid a ransom of $340,000 to secure the release of the crew - a fraction of the $2 million reportedly sought by Lobia.

The Rotterdam District Court ruled that Lobia was the operational leader of the hijacking gang, and he was sentenced to a term of 8.5 years in Dutch prison for the FWN Rapide attack. He may yet receive a longer penalty: Last week, he was "arrested" a second time while in prison, and he will be tried on additional charges related to an earlier hijacking - the attack on the German merchant ship BBC Caribbean.

On February 5, 2017, BBC Caribbean was operating off Nigeria when she was boarded by armed pirates, who abducted eight members of the crew. The hostages were transferred back to Nigeria in skiffs and hidden at a compound in the creeks of the Niger Delta. Several crewmembers managed to hide and evade capture aboard the ship, and they navigated the BBC Caribbean safely to Las Palmas, 2,500 nautical miles to the northwest.

After a month of hostage negotiations, which the pirates reportedly spent in a state of constant and severe inebriation, the kidnapped crewmembers were ransomed and released. The amount of the payment was not disclosed.

Meanwhile, the BBC Caribbean was searched on arrival at Las Palmas, and forensic investigators collected extensive evidence - including fingerprints and DNA traces from cigarette butts. One set of DNA eventually turned up a positive match: it was Lobia's.

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service and the National Expertise and Operations Unit (LX) launched a second investigation after finding this link, and have asked authorities in South Africa - where Lobia was first arrested - for permission to prosecute him a second time for the additional crime. An examining magistrate granted a custody order to start the case last Thursday. 

The Maritime Executive

Nigeria Declares Nivea Deodorant Free From Harmful Chemicals

Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has published an update to an alert notifying Nigerians of a recall for Nivea’s Black&White Invisible roll-on deodorant. The regulatory body has now declared that products manufactured in Nigeria are safe to use.

According to a report published by The Cable, an investigation carried out by the regulatory body found that the product in question manufactured in Nigeria does not contain the non-compliant ingredient BMHCA.

Beiersdorf clarified, per The Cable, that the batch subject to the recall expired in January 2022, was fully compliant with EU regulations at the time, and has not been marketed in Nigeria. The deodorant has since been reformulated to be Lilial-free following the ingredient’s 2022 ban.

By Georgina Caldwell, Global Cosmetic News 

Related story: Nestle accused of adding sugar to infant formulas in Nigeria

 

Nigeria plans $28 bln spending for 2025 budget

Nigeria plans 47 trillion naira ($28.18 billion) spending for its 2025 budget, using an assumption of an oil price of $75 per barrel and target production of 2 million barrels per day, the country's budget minister said on Thursday.

The budget includes a deficit of 13.8 trillion naira, or 3.87% of estimated GDP, Atiku Bagudu told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Abuja.

The 2025 budget also includes a forecast exchange rate to the U.S. dollar at 1,400 naira, stronger than its official closing rate of 1,655 naira on Thursday.

Bagudu said the government's fiscal efforts were on track with key non-oil revenue streams performing better than anticipated. 

By Felix Onuah, Reuters