Bulwark Intelligence

Linkedin Instagram Envelope
Edit Content

MARITIME SECURITY

CURATED OSINT, MARITIME SECURITY, Nigeria, SECURITY THREATS

LINGERING THREATS IN NIGERIA’S MARITIME ZONE

/

In a Premium Times report, Nigeria reported 31 actual attempted vessel hijacking cases in 2018, an increase of 87% from the 107 cases that were reported globally in international waters in the first half of the year. Out of the 78 occurrences of international maritime piracy and armed robbery incidents reported to IMB from January to June, Nigeria had 21 incidences of vessel attacks across its waters in 2019. While in 2021, out of the 68 occurrences of international maritime piracy reported, Nigeria had four incidents of vessel attacks across its waters in the first half of the year.  According to a new report from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), Nigeria had the fewest to no instances of sea robberies and pirate attacks against its ships in the first half of 2022, and while these accounts differ, there is no doubt that there has been a significant decrease in maritime incidents. The Nigerian Navy’s efforts to combat piracy have been recognized through its kinetic campaigns, the Deep Blue project, and the most recent addition of a Command, Control, Computer Communication, and Information system, dubbed the C4i Centre, in collaboration with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, as well as cooperation with foreign navies for drills and law enforcement off Nigerian waterways. Several meetings held under the auspices of the Gulf of Guinea maritime coordination forum, Shared Awareness, and DEconfliction (SHADE), have all been cited as essential to the success of the fight against piracy in the area.  Despite this feat in the Nigerian seas, there have been some maritime warnings and suspicious approaches recorded within the above time frame under review. The Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade in the Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) on 4 April 2022, reported a boarding occurrence on an MV. Attackers boarded the vessel, destroyed all navigation equipment, and stole personal effects. Authorities were alerted and the Italian navy ship LUIGI RIZZO was escorted to the vessel after an intervention on board. On 7 July 2022, a warning was issued regarding a piracy threat 83NM south-southwest of Bonny in Rivers State.  But aside from piracy and other occurrences on the high sea, the inland waterways continue to experience pockets of criminality such as kidnapping and theft, but most importantly, boat mishaps. On 6 July 2022 a boat ferrying 17 passengers to Victoria Island, Lagos state capsized, resulting in two fatalities. Yet another boat mishap was recorded on 9 July in Lagos state on a boat conveying passengers from Ibeshe, Mile 2, Lagos state resulting in 14 fatalities. In Niger state, a canoe ferrying over 50 passengers capsized on 23 July 2022.  Bad weather, over-loading, contempt for safety requirements, and a lack of boat maintenance are all common causes of boat accidents on waterways. Human negligence, on the other hand, plays a critical part in the continuing trend. Aside from recreation, one of the driving reasons for boat usage is its use as an advantageous alternative to road travelling, with some of the disadvantages of road travel including road defects, accidents, and gridlocks. Despite the transportation benefit, it is nonetheless hampered by the risks associated with the activities of substandard boat operators, who operate vessels that lack seaworthiness yet continue to operate at the expense of passenger safety. In response to these occurrences, the ministry of justice gazetted a new waterway regulation that stipulates 7 years in prison for jetty owners, boat operators, and passengers who flout water transport regulations in a bid to curb the incessant mishaps occasioned by non-compliance to laid out safety regulations. The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), hitherto the Inland Waterways Department (IWD) of the Federal Ministry of Transport, which was metamorphosed into an Authority vide an act of the National Assembly, CAP 47, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004 (Decree No. 13 of 1997), is mandated with the primary responsibility to enforcing these regulations and the development of Nigeria’s inland waterways for navigation. Conclusion The threats persist despite some of the gains made in various anti-piracy initiatives in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. This calls for revisions and improvements of these national and regional counter-piracy strategies and their hubs with deployed capabilities to reduce the socioeconomic opportunities and motivations for piracy.  Also, the National Inland Waterways Authority should make more active efforts to aggressively sensitize the public in light of the aforementioned. It has been determined that commuters and boat captains both contribute to the high rate of boat accidents; as a result, the agency must live up to its responsibility by effectively enforcing safety standards and other regulatory roles—all geared towards making the waterways safer for public transportation. Because, ensuring such regulations are in place with a great degree of orderliness in the sector, will encourage private institutions to invest in encouraging more growth, making the sector more lucrative and creating more avenues for job creation.  

BORDER SECURITY, GLOBAL SECURITY, MARITIME SECURITY, TRANSNATIONAL CRIME

Why Sea Piracy in Nigeria is rising again

/

While sea piracy is decreasing worldwide, the International Maritime Bureau says it is increasing at an alarming rate in Gulf of Guinea West Africa. The picture is a screenshot of IMB’s Piracy & Armed Robbery map 2016. There has been at least 32 attacks so far this year, sea piracy in Nigeria ranking top, with most of these attacks taking place in Nigerian territorial waters. Compared with 54 attacks in the same waters all through last year. Attacks from sea piracy in Nigeria has affected the Nigerian economy in more devastating ways than we know. Aside from being a major source of oil, the Gulf of Guinea represents a significant transit hub for cocoa and metals destined for world markets. London think-tank Chatham House reported that up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil are stolen every day in the Gulf of Guinea. Some other statistics say Nigeria is losing about $1.5 billion a month as a result of sea piracy, sea armed robbery, smuggling and so on. Incidents that occur in our territorial waters affects the global economy as there are more interconnected shipping supply networks. For example, on the 11 April 2016, two ships were attacked along the Gulf of Guinea, one of which was MT Puli which confirmed that six Turkish seamen had been kidnapped by pirates. Britain’s deputy UN Ambassador Peter Wilson pointed out that between those two pirate attacks, seven different countries were affected. Malta and Liberia whose flags were on the ships, Turkey, Greece and Nigeria where the cargo originated from, Egypt, Philippines and Turkey where the missing crew men came from. Pirates Adjust their Tactics In addition to increasing the frequency of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, the West African pirates have also altered their mode of operation. In the past, the pirates had always preferred hijacking vessels with oil cargo which they would steal along with equipment and other items. For instance, one of many sea piracy in Nigeria happened In March 2004, armed pirates in six boats surrounded a tanker in Warri and ordered the vessel to anchor. The pirates then pumped the gasoline cargo on board the vessel into a barge that brought along. These lootings took a considerable amount of time and could even last up to several days. The pirates took their time because they felt no immediate threat to hasten as there wasn’t heavy security presence in the area anyway. But now, regional Navies have increased their coordinated responses to piracy attacks. One particular high profile successful response occurred on 11 February 2016, when the MT Maximus a Dubai owned vessel leased to a South Korean company, carrying 4,700 tons of diesel was hijacked by pirates along Ivory Coast. (A Nigerian by the name of Mr Charles Ekpemefumor was later discovered to have been the mastermind behind this attack). Unfortunately for the pirates they attacked that ship on a day when Navies from the U.S, Ghana, Togo and Nigeria were conducting a live training exercise. Their exercise simulation soon turned into a real life rescue mission. What occurred next has been hailed as what needs to be the standard in tackling the Gulf of Guinea piracy issue. The various Navies began tracking the hijacked Maximus as the pirates steered the ship from Ivorian waters to Ghanaian waters, into Togo and were heading towards Sao Tome when the Nigerian Navy was contacted for help. MT Maximus had sailed for about nine days, covering a distance of 1,280 kilometers before the Nigerian Navy Special Forces stormed the vessel leading to the capture of six pirates and the rescue of 18 crew members. Picture: Arrested pirates that hijacked the Panama-flagged Maximus vessel are shown to the media in Lagos, Nigeria, Feb. 22.(AP/Sunday Alamba)   Pirates Adapting and Getting More Violent Although recent actions show that there is increasing international maritime security collaboration, pirates are fluid and are able to constantly adapt and circumvent countermeasures. The recent actions of the Navy have made the Gulf of Guinea pirates realize that it’s not going to be as easy to hijack a vessel and hold it for days while they steal the cargo. Besides, the low oil prices have made any stolen crude harder to sell and less profitable. When the Malta flagged MT Kalamos, a super oil tanker, was attacked in February 2015. The tankers’ crew were kidnapped by pirates and were freed after $400,000 ransom was paid according to the Maritime piracy 2015 report. The pirates have decided that it would be safer and more lucrative for them to focus more on kidnapping ship crew, and holding them till ransom has been paid. According to an Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) report, the pirates board the attacked vessel, isolate the ranking officers and engineers who they figure would net higher ransoms. If time permits, they loot the vessel as well. If not, they quickly escape with their selected crew members and hold them onshore until negotiations are concluded and ransom has been paid. Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea also tend to be a lot more violent than in other parts of the world. According to the OBP report, 23 people were killed by pirates in 2015 and the kidnapped sailors were beaten and subject to mock executions. Most sailors are only released after ransom is paid. It is clear that money is the primary motive for the West African pirates who have made it clear to international stakeholders that they are not bluffing and would not hesitate to take away lives if their demands are not met. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea as in everywhere else in the world is going to require strong collaboration among the various Navies of the coastal region. Single state solutions achieve short term results and cannot compete with the flexible strategies of the pirates. Effective security patrols on one side of the coast simply resulted in the pirates carrying out attacks in another section of the water. For example, when Nigeria and Benin Republic

MARITIME SECURITY, TERRORISM

Pipeline Vandalism is a Form of Terrorism

/

I recently read a story about a conservation group who uses aggressive tactics to apprehend wildlife poachers. In this particular story, they sent out a quadcopter drone equipped with thermal night vision camera to detect and track some poachers on the sea who typically came out at night where they could operate under the cover of pitch black. Once the poachers realized there was a drone watching them, they tried to flee, but the conservationists had the drones follow the poachers, while relaying the geo-coordinates to the local Navy who then took over the chase and apprehended the poachers. If a small group of people with limited funds and resources did all this to protect ‘fish’,  why then is a nation with a defense budget ranging in billions of dollars, unable to protect its critical infrastructure from vandals?!   Video: Night vision camera footage used by Sea Shepard conservation group to monitor marine wildlife poachers who were operating in the middle of the ocean during hours of darkness. The use of drones fitted with night vision and thermal cameras can be effective in monitoring day or night time activity in remote areas where the country’s pipeline infrastructure cross. Nigeria has been dealing with pipeline vandalism for many years now, the effect of which can be felt throughout every strata of society. Earlier this year, a group who identify themselves as the ‘Niger Delta Avengers’, bombed the Forcados export terminal in Delta state. The bombing of this particular infrastructure has been blamed for the severe power outage currently being experienced around the country. In other words, this damage has led to revenue loss for the entire country, affecting payment of salaries and has also led to millions of citizens and businesses struggling to stay afloat due to poor power availability. Nigerian Government Solution to Vandalism The Vice of Nigeria offered up possible solutions to the pipeline vandalism issue stating that the country was going to set up a special force that who will focus on targeted action against vandals. The only issue with this is that an organization already exists for this reason and setting up another special force will be a duplication of effort. One of the primary roles of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) is to provide protection to Nigeria’s public infrastructures. If the agency is effective, there shouldn’t be a need to set up another special force to do the job that a whole agency has already been tasked to do. On the other hand, the continuous destruction of critical national infrastructure highlights the inability of the agency to effectively carry out its duties. The government could consider merging it with some of the other existing security agencies in the country. In September 2015, the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) stated that the agency was going to utilize drones to monitor pipelines and patrol offshore locations. For this to be effective, the NNPC would have to overcome the hurdle of those who have prevented the use of remote aerial tools in the first place. These hurdles come from some within the agency itself, the various security agencies, government officials, community stakeholders and so on. Vandalism is a Form of Terrorism The reality is that protecting critical national infrastructure is not so much about having the assets (the drones) or even about the agency (NSCDC or any other special force. It is about a willing government and a willing security force, being able to run effective operations day in, day out. For example, there was a recent investigative article which revealed that three surveillance and reconnaissance aircrafts acquired by the Nigerian Immigration Service for the purpose of countering illegal immigration, were not being used for their intended purpose and had been abandoned in their northern base. To make matters worse, all the special surveillance equipment fitted on the aircrafts had been removed! Protecting critical infrastructure from vandals truly is a vital matter of national security in just about every country. For instance, the U.S Intelligence Community understands that successful attacks on a country’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) constitutes a major threat that could inflict significant harm on the targeted country. That is why as part of their national security strategy, all efforts are put into protecting their CNIs. In other words, attacking a country’s critical national infrastructure such as their “water management, oil and gas pipelines, electrical power distribution, and mass transit”, is one of the first things you do when you want to invade a country, or what you do when you want to bring a country to its knees and is considered an act of terrorism. It is perhaps through this reasoning that President Buhari said his administration was going to deal with vandals with the same level of force and intensity like Boko Haram. However, some people from the Niger-Delta interpreted the president’s comments adversely. Some elders said it was inflammatory and could start another crisis in the region because they felt that the use of force would mean innocent citizens would also end up being casualties. Also, they didn’t think Boko Haram and pipeline vandals should be considered on the same criminal level. They believe that Boko Haram just killed, and destroyed properties for no reason, whereas, pipeline vandals were simply disrupting oil production and nothing more. Another group which believes President Buhari has ulterior motives for their region saw his statement as confirmation that he truly intends to annihilate them. Need For Better Communication Strategy The people’s response to the President’s statement highlights the need for a more effective national communication strategy. First of all, it shows that community members in the region who aware of the people involved in vandalism, choose not to get involved, but think it unfair to end up as casualties in the war against vandals. Second of all, some community members believe vandals are doing the right thing and are helping them ensure development is brought to their communities. The people

MARITIME SECURITY

The Niger Delta Militancy 2.0: What Should We Expect?

/

The Niger Delta militants had threatened to resume bombing attacks on oil infrastructure if the amnesty program was eliminated. The amnesty program was not eliminated, but the pipeline attacks recommenced. There have been several reasons given as to the resumption of bombing attacks in the Niger Delta. One of the first reasons floating around is the cultural issue. According to reports and interviews of local indigenes of the Niger Delta President Jonathan was considered a “fellow brother” and it was assumed that his ascension to presidency would lead to an impressive development of the area. President Buhari on the other hand was regarded with little enthusiasm in the region as there’s a narrative being played out in some parts of the Niger Delta that a Northern president does not have the Niger Delta’s best interest at heart. Therefore some people within the region are willing to do whatever it takes to cause problems during Buhari’s presidential tenure. The second and third reasons cited for the resumption of pipeline attacks has to do with politics and Tompolo. The recent attacks have been said by some to be as a result of spillover of political tensions within the region. Others cite the warrant for ex-militant Tompolo’s arrest as the main reason for the pipeline bombings. The attacks occurred a few hours after a former militant leader Tompolo was declared wanted with a warrant out for his arrest. The former militant has separated himself from the incident saying that he is being framed by those seeking revenge based on his role in the recent political elections. A fourth reason simply says that militants are just acting based on instructions received by their various leaders. For example, there was a recent attack in the new Shoprite mall in Delta State carried out by some local youths. The police apprehended one of the attackers who confessed that they had been hired by a community leader to carry out this attack for reasons unknown to them. These oil field attacks could also be as a result of the same thing in which orders were simply given to carry out these attacks for individual selfish reasons.  One of such selfish reasons floating around is that some individuals are upset that the pipeline surveillance contracts were taken away from them and awarded to another company. As such, the affected individuals decided to pay some militants to blow up the pipelines and discredit the contracted firms. One more reason cited as a possible cause for the bombing resurgence has to do with civil/ethnic rivalries, between the Ijaws and Itsekiris. Some reports state that the Ijaw militants are carrying out the attacks on oil facilities in Itsekiri towns knowing that it would lead to a military crackdown on the local Itsekiri communities. In essence, some claim it’s a plan to stoke the flames of old civil rivalries. Whatever the reason for the resurgence may be, we can all agree that the attacks must cease as Nigeria cannot afford to allow this militancy to fester. President Buhari stated that “the oil thieves and abductors are less of a problematic target” saying they will be swiftly dealt with. Defeating this Niger Delta militancy resurgence may not be as easy and swift as expected due to several challenges being experienced by the military services involved. Challenges with Defeating This Militancy Some of the challenges the Navy has had in preventing militancy has been in the judicial system. According to the Chief of Naval Staff, over 163 suspects were arrested by the Navy for various crimes in the Niger Delta and handed over for prosecution by relevant law enforcement agencies between Jan. and Dec. 2015. However, these suspects have been able to use lapses in the judicial system to evade prosecution. However, just like the Army was dealing with supply issues with regards to the Boko Haram insurgency, the North East, so also did the CNS state that the Navy was dealing with inadequate funding, poor industrial base, inadequate barracks accommodation for personnel and contemporary threats to maritime security as some of challenges militating against the actualization of the Navy’s broad objectives. Another challenge the Navy will face in dealing with the Niger Delta militancy resurgence is in the area of prevalent weapons. A recent headline stated that no less than 7,000 ex-militants from Akwa Ibom State are expected to lay down their arms in the state. These former militants had apparently been armed to protect the nation’s pipelines and in an effort to disassociate themselves from the new group of militants who have resumed attacks, these ex-militants have agreed to surrender their weapons. Weapons proliferation are an ongoing issue in the Niger Delta and so the Nigerian Navy operatives who will be dealing with the war against oil infrastructure attacks can expect to face well armed fierce battles. During a military operation in the area, which took place on September 5, 2015, suspected militants sighted troops approaching their camp and opened fire on them. It led to a 30 minute gun battle between the militants and the security operatives. The militants were eventually overpowered and fled. When the military troops stormed the militant’s camp, they discovered sophisticated weapons, including Medium Machine Gun, AK 47 light machine gun, AK 47 automatic rifle, one Fabrique Nationale, SMI and G3 rifled, one single barrelled gun, 7.62mm Nato special ammunition, 11 improvised explosive devices. Militants are able to amass such sophisticated weapons by over-powering military personnel or installations and carting away official weapons as bounty. For example, there was an attack in Oron, Akwa Ibom state, where the militants over powered the marine police and carted away their arms while the policemen fled for their lives. There was another militant attack on the Nigerian Customs Service Base in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, in which an officer was killed and about 10 rifles were carted away by the militants. What Can We Expect With a plethora of reasons abounding as to the real cause of the renewed

MARITIME SECURITY

Niger Delta: No More Business as Usual

/

Just as the Nigerian government was beginning to make some progress in the counter insurgency fight in the North East, another threat has begun to re-emerge in the South-South, the Niger-Delta Militants. The militants recently carried out 3 consecutive bombing attacks against critical oil infrastructure. At about 10pm on Thursday 14th January, militants blew up the Escravos-Warri-Abuja-Lagos pipelines. On Friday the 15th January at about 10.30pm, the militants blew up Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL’s Utunana –Makaraba crude oil line. And then around the early hours of Saturday the 16th January, the militants bombed the Olero gas line. A resurgence of attacks on the struggling oil and gas industry will severely affect socio-economic conditions of not just the people in the South-South, but of all Nigerians who are already experiencing hardship from an economic downturn. As if things are not dire enough, it was reported that the attacks on the Escravos–Warri-Lagos Pipeline may lead to significant drop in power generation as a result of disruption of gas supply to power stations across the country including Lagos State. The Amnesty Problem The Niger Delta militancy crisis was doused after the Federal government brokered an amnesty deal with the militants around June 2009. This amnesty program was a temporary solution to an endemic problem. The idea was to buy peace by paying the militants to give up their arms, while making available vocational training that will give the jobless youth better employment opportunities. The Federal Government then took it one step further and awarded generous contracts to former militants to protect the pipelines they previously attempted to destroy. This sort of arrangement would have made sense if the whole strategy behind this deal was to ensure a temporary cease fire while more concrete plans were in place to develop the Niger-Delta’s social institutions and infrastructure, while putting solid security strategies in place that would prevent such repeat attacks on critical oil infrastructure. But such wasn’t the case. Ineffective Solution Despite the amnesty program, crime in the Niger Delta persisted. Kidnappings, armed robberies, sea piracy, and oilfield attacks persisted around the creeks albeit, not to the level of destruction witnessed pre-amnesty. A number of former militants complained about being short changed by their leaders as their amnesty payments had been severely cut before it reached them. It was reported that some of the militants received N20,000 as against the N65,000 monthly stipends earmarked for each of them, while some militants were being owed up to 3 months payment arrears. The Niger Delta militants began expressing their intent to resume attacks against oil infrastructure. Back in mid 2015, the armed forces even announced that there was an increase in oil field attacks as former militant youth appeared to be re-arming. In October 2015, some former militants confirmed to visiting journalists that some groups within the creeks had started recruiting again in anticipation that the Buhari administration will put an end to the amnesty program. What the Buhari Administration did Although the Buhari administration withdrew the pipeline protection contracts from former militants, the administration announced in early January 2016 that it had decided to continue the amnesty payments and even sorted out the back payments of those who were being owed. In fact the only major change to the amnesty program was that instead of paying the leaders to distribute the payments to the reformed militants, the payment was going to be disbursed directly to the amnesty participants. Despite this amnesty continuation reassurance, pipelines were once again recently attacked. What Should the Government Do? The amnesty was not as effective as it could have been due to corruption and greed. Unfortunately for the militants, business as usual cannot continue in the Niger Delta. President Buhari inherited a much depleted treasury and global oil prices continue to decline further straining Nigeria’s fiscal abilities. The rescinded pipeline protection contracts and latest corruption crackdown by the new administration has probably started to affect the flow of cash getting to the Niger Delta militants. The militants are going to attempt to continue carrying out attacks on oilfields in an attempt to show how much power they wield over the stability of Nigeria, and force the government to acquiesce to their personal interest and terms. This is where the government security agencies are going to have to do what it takes to protect the stability of the country, while showing the administration’s zero tolerance for sabotage. Were security forces caught unawares? Nigerian security operatives tend to be more reactive in their security responses. If the general public was aware of a possible resurgence of oil field attacks, surely the security agencies should also have been in-the-know and have been ready to prevent these attacks by gathering intelligence through their network of informants along with their various surveillance and early warning detection systems installed on critical infrastructure. In addition to these prevention strategies, there should have been a heightened alert posture assumed by the security agencies after the first blast, preventing opportunities for subsequent attacks. But this did not happen till about the third attack. The militants probably remember their last campaign back in 2008 when attacks on oil assets were at its peak. They brazenly confronted government security operatives, causing a number of deaths and injuries, destroying and seizing military gunboats, and weapons, and even at some point attempted the use of surface-to-air missiles to shoot down naval and Air Force helicopters. The militants managed to cause a lot of instability in Nigeria which increased their prominence on the international scene and even impacted the global oil market. They are probably hoping to replicate similar outcomes, but with a more proactive stance, the military can prevent this devastating threat from reoccurring. Ongoing military operations such as OP PULO SHIELD have attempted to strategically target for destruction militant camps and hideouts. One of such ops led to the discovery of several sophisticated weapons which continue to be proliferated throughout the region. Conditions allowing easy access to weapons must be checked through

MARITIME SECURITY

Defeating pipeline vandals will require a joint effort rivaling the extensive network of the vandals

/

  This week, the Army arrested several Boko Haram sympathizers who had been supplying food items to the terrorist group, as well as individuals who were responsible for providing fake ID cards which allowed the terrorist to roam liberally around the country carrying out attacks. The military also rescued a considerable number of kidnapped women and children who were previously Boko Haram captives, and schools in Gwoza were re-opened, which is significant in the fight against terrorism as it is indicative of the gradual elimination of terrorists in North-Eastern Nigeria. Following last week’s IED attack at the IDP camp, security around the area was increased which later led to the identification of several Boko Haram insurgents who were hiding among the IDPs. BH Incidents Despite these successes, there were multiple bomb explosions in Maiduguri this week. Two bombs that were emplaced in a mosque exploded during peak prayer time. One other bomber detonated at a video game center and the last explosion occurred near a business district where people were getting ready to buy dinner. This shows that despite these successes, members of the public need to stay more vigilant. Report suspicious individuals and remain conscious of your surroundings. BH Negotiations and De-radicalization President Buhari mentioned that the Federal Government had begun negotiations with members of Boko Haram, in a bid to secure the release of the Chibok girls. Based on what Boko Haram is demanding, one could conclude it does not look very promising as they are requesting that the government release a member of BH who is a known IED maker in exchange for the Chibok girls. There are many obvious reasons why that is not a viable concession as having an IED maker active in society will unquestionably result in the taking of thousands of innocent lives. It has however, been suggested that the talks are still informal as Boko Haram’s leadership has not actually picked any individuals to negotiate on their behalf. The main challenge with negotiating with the sect is making sure we are speaking with the right people. This is a legitimate challenge considering the group’s sect leader Abubakar Shekau released an audio message last week claiming Boko Haram was still going strong. Shekau also took care to send greetings to ISIS leader and affirm his loyalty to that terrorist organization. This action could be seen as Shekau’s way of letting ISIS know where BH stands possibly in the hopes of getting some form of assistance from the terrorist group. There has been a lot of talk about Boko Haram negotiations and deciding what to do with the droves of insurgent surrendering. The thing is the government has to find a way to re-habilitate former Boko Haram members into society. For instance, a number of Boko Haram members were said to have comprised of former street children who were neglected and subsequently found refuge in the group which provided socio-economic benefits such as education and shelter. These children were raised by radical individuals, who taught them a distorted ideology, albeit, giving them a semblance of organization. Responsively, the FG has begun actions to de-radicalize and re-integrate former Boko Haram insurgents and victims back into society. These members are a reflection of previous government neglect; therefore it is only right for the government to put measures in place such as provision of education, basic amenities, and healthcare, most specifically psychiatric help. Military might alone is not the answer to defeating Boko Haram, a multifaceted approach which encompasses socio-economic and collaborative overture is the way forward. Former Sierra Leone child soldier Ishmael Beah explained his ordeal as a child soldier saying that they were “brainwashed, drugged and forced to kill”. There was absolute disregard for the value of human life as he explained that “shooting became just like drinking a glass of water”. These individuals did not know any better and were easily manipulated to believe a message of hate. Ishmael Beah spent 8 months in rehab learning what he had done and readjusting to life after war. Initially he and the other child soldiers in the program were very unruly and destructive.  But the staff members remained patient with them and there was significant progress made in their recovery. Today, Beah now works as a United Nations Ambassador for children affected by war. The Boko Haram insurgency has brought this problem upon a section of the Nigerian populace and the government must implement a soft handed approach to tackle it. AREPO News reports surfaced this week that about 10 DSS operatives were killed and their bodies stolen, by pipeline vandals in Konu area of Ikorodu, returing from Arepo creeks. According to some police sources, the policemen in the division were unaware that the DSS operatives were coming to that area. So the police source claims when they heard sporadic gunshots that lasted for some minutes, they just assumed it was the rampaging vandals. Petroleum pipeline vandalization around Arepo, Ogun state has been an ongoing issue.  In fact, I stumble upon an old report detailing the Arepo pipeline explosion back in January 2013. In that incident, vandals blew up a major pipeline. The arrested vandals in connection with this incident confessed that they were obeying the orders of their leaders who were looking to frustrate the security effort of the police. The suspects claimed they learnt that NNPC was mounting a security platform close to the creeks and “that would be bad business for them”. It was then agreed that they should thwart the effort. On that fateful day, the vandals siphoned their petroleum products and threw a lit cigarette at the ruptured portion of the pipeline, causing the massive explosion. A more recent incident occurred on August 30, 2015, when pipeline vandals operating in the same vicinity killed 4 policemen and took away the corpses. According to news reports, the police intercepted tankers of stolen fuel. The pipeline vandals “settled the policemen”, and then members of the SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) later came to

Scroll to Top