• Expatriate Maritime Security Firms Want Indigenous Firm Sacked
The juicy contracts that were awarded by the Federal Government to a Nigerian firm to ensure security across the nation’s coastal waters is under threat as some foreign maritime security interests have penetrated government circles to snatch the controversial contract from the Nigerian firm.
• Expatriate Maritime Security Firms Want Indigenous Firm Sacked
The juicy contracts that were awarded by the Federal Government to a Nigerian firm to ensure security across the nation’s coastal waters is under threat as some foreign maritime security interests have penetrated government circles to snatch the controversial contract from the Nigerian firm.
Apart from the notable ones like Messrs Global West Vessel Specialist which have been contracted by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Shipping Position Daily learnt last week that there are pockets of other outfits that are currently engaged by oil firms and other high net worth shipping and associated businesses to provide security for its personnel, installation and crafts.
Sources hinted our correspondent last week that the recent comment by the Consul General of the United States Embassy in Nigeria, Mr Jeffrey Hawkins to the effect that Nigeria’s maritime security is effective is to prepare the grounds for the eventual reorganisation.
A foreign security source told our correspondent that, “the provision of maritime security services in Nigeria is about to turn on its head; non-legal actors will be forced out of the country and the Nigerian Navy and National Security Agency will begin to play an even more important role in regulating the industry”.
Mr. Hawkins had told a gathering which comprised of top players in the Nigerian maritime sector that there is a growing incidence of piracy and violent crimes off Nigeria’s coast and that the development is becoming worrisome, adding that there is “what seems to be the ineffectual security response to those activities.”
Reeling out data, the US envoy recalled that: “The International Maritime Bureau recently reported that sea piracy around the globe dropped substantially in 2012, to its lowest level in five years. Yet at the same time, the frequency of maritime attacks in the Gulf of Guinea has increased –and increased significantly. The IMB reported 10 attacks off Nigeria in 2011, then 27 in 2012 –and most people we’ve talked with have suggested the IMB figures only account for a portion of actual incidents,”
“From cargo theft to kidnapping for ransom, the Gulf of Guinea is becoming known as a very dangerous place to do business. It is becoming known as a place where you must sail in convoys, and where you must hire armed guards –who themselves are Nigerian police officers or sailors, and theoretically should have responsibilities other than serving as hired guns. The Gulf is becoming known as a place where you must prepare your crew to be attacked at any time. It is becoming a place where maritime security enforcement is weak, when it exists at all,” he further said.
Similarly, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Andrew Pocock, has expressed concern over increasing insecurity in the Niger Delta region, saying that piracy and sea related crimes are on the rise.
He considered that the rising profile of criminals on the land and at sea within the Nigerian coast was worrisome, but that with the effective performance of officers and ratings of the Nigerian Navy in peace keeping in the region, West African countries did not need new security institutions to address such problems. All existing institutions, both national and regional need to work together for effective policing of the area.
But our correspondents scooped last week that plans for a radical shakeup of the maritime security industry’s activities in Nigeria are further ahead than most have suspected and that there is a growing need to fully equip the Navy to ensure that the nation’s coastal and territorial waters are secured.
Rumours of plans to regulate the industry and crackdown on non-legal actors have been circulating for some time; however, no specific details have as yet emerged.
A foreign security interest, Maritime Security Review, which also quoted some unnamed Nigerian sources, hinted that the Nigerian Navy will play the lead role in introducing a series of measures that will force those operating without licenses to leave the country while placing the legitimate players under stricter controls and monitoring.
According to one government official speaking on the condition of anonymity, “the rules of the game are very clear in Nigeria, legislation governing the private security industry has been in place for a long time.”
“The sector is well regulated but there are those who try and operate illegally, we will bring a stop to this.”
According to the source, the Nigerian Government is not only angered over the flaunting of laws but strongly objects to the loss of tax revenues. The practice of ‘piggybacking’- a non-legal form of sub-contracting, means that only a small proportion of a contract’s value is awarded to a Nigerian registered company. In those cases where a foreign company is supplying services, no taxes are paid in Nigeria at all.
Another indication of an imminent reorganisation came to the fore at a recent conference held at the Center for Strategic Research and Studies in Lagos, where Mr Alex Vines, African research director for London-based Chatham House, stated that: “Private security providers are licking their lips in anticipation of coming in and making good money” in Nigeria.
At the same event, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria; Andrew Pocock, added to Vines comments by stating that there was need for the Nigerian government to “to move from analysis to action.”
The Gulf of Guinea where Nigeria is a prominent player is becoming an ever riskier area, where in 2012, the Lloyd’s Market Association listed Nigeria, Benin and nearby waters in the same risk category as Somalia where piracy has flourished over the past few years.
The determination of the Nigerian Navy to reclaim its role also came to the fore recently when the Chief of Naval Staff; Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, explained that the recent escalation in violent pirate attacks, that range from low-level armed robberies to hijackings and cargo thefts, have led Nigeria to launch more anti-piracy patrols. He added that in recent months more than 40 vessels have been detained.
It was confirmed that private maritime security industry in Nigeria is about to face series of changes that will favour the committed, serious players and eliminate the far less professional and give the Navy more relevance.
*With additional reports from agencies and foreign sources
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