Red alert...as West African drug syndicate uses Nigeria water ways

By

Emeka Ibemere

It sounds like a beginning of a story line: five foreigners- two Ghanaian, two Beninese and another Niger national, attempted to ferry illicit drugs using Nigeria water ways as perfect route for their illicit deals.

But that was what happened as, Joseph Akpe 36 year old Nigerian, Gabriel Fokito 32, years-old Ghanaian, Zutah Edward, a 42 year old Ghanaian, Ameriato Tafe, 30 of Benin national and Celestine Azarante 27, of Benin citizens were stopped from ferrying drugs into Nigeria.

The five suspects are alleged part of the West African drug syndicate, who are trying to invade Nigeria with illicit drugs having considered the country as a transit country for drugs to Europe and America.

Their pot of luck ran dry on that fateful day as the Marine Unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), foiled attempt by a West African drug syndicate to employ the services of fishermen in smuggling 1,020.5kg of compressed dried weeds suspected to be Ghanaian cannabis.

It was gathered that the Marine officers attached to the Apapa Port Command of the Lagos axis of the port intercepted the drug on Nigerian waters during patrol.

“Five suspected fishermen comprising Beninese, Ghanaian and a Nigerian have been arrested in connection with the illegal importation of the drug from Ghana”, Mitchell Ofoyeju stated.

“This is the highest single seizure of cannabis made by the Marine Unit since its establishment. The drug has a street value of N10million”.

Ofoyeju also stressed that the five suspected drug traffickers were conveying the drugs in a motorized boat. He disclosed further that at the time of arrest these people were arrested. “Joseph Akpe, 36, Nigerian, Gabriel Fokito, 32, Ghanaian, Zutah Edward, 42, Ghanaian, Ameriato Tafe, 30, Beninese and Celestine Azarante, 27, Beninese”.

Speaking on the issue, the NDLEA Apapa Port Commander, Mr. Nse Jack explained that the compressed cannabis originated from Ghana. “Officers of the Marine Unit, Apapa Port Command of the Agency intercepted a boat containing twenty-three consignment of compressed dried weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa concealed in white sacks and wrapped in black polythene. The shipment originated from Ghana through Benin Republic. Those under investigation include two citizens of Ghana, two citizens of Benin Republic and a Nigerian,” Nse stated.

Meanwhile, the suspects in their statements have allegedly claimed that the drugs belonged to them. Ofoyeju said they have owned up to the crime and would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

Joseph Akpe, one of the suspects who led the gang said their motive was pecuniary. “We were given N100, 000, part payment for logistics”, he added. “We would have collected a balance of N250, 000 if not for the arrest,” he told investigators.

Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade commended the Marine officers for their vigilance leading to the arrest.

“This is a warning to drug barons that the Agency is prepared to halt their illicit drug activities on water, land and on the air. I commend the impressive officers for their vigilance,” Giade stated.

The NDLEA boss added that the Agency would further strengthen the Marine Unit for effective patrol of Nigerian waters.

 There are indications that the Federal Government are committed to ensure safety and security of navigation within Nigeria’s territorial waters and her Exclusive Economic Zone.

It would be recalled that one of the challenges to safety of navigation was the threat posed by piracy and armed robbery in most territorial waters including Nigeria’s. But recently, drug traffickers have added to the challenges facing Nigerian water ways.

With the increasing insecurity in the land, it was discovered the Federal Government is worried by the increasing cases of piracy of the maritime industry and sea robbery both in Nigeria and across the global shipping community, but assured that it was making moves to address this challenge.

An NDLEA source claimed that government would continuously place the safety and security of the maritime domain in the front burner, especially now that the country if facing serious security problem. Our source stated that efforts have been made to ensure adequate safety and security mechanisms in Nigeria’s maritime domain and that was why the NDLEA monitoring officers were able to foil the attempt by the foreigners to ship into the country a N10 million worth of illicit drugs.

A Custom officer also disclosed that some strategies were being put in place to effectively contain the challenges posed by water ways criminals using Nigerian ports as escape routes. Already, the government has set up of an Inter-agency Maritime Coordination Committee with membership drawn from the Federal Ministry of Transport, the Navy, the State Security Service, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, the Nigerian Ports Authority, the National Inland Waterways Authority, Customs and the NDLEA.

Our investigations also showed that the government was currently working on improving in technology to shore up capacity in the surveillance, monitoring and enforcement, which is in line with its port state control responsibility. The effort was to protect the marine environment from pollution and substandard ships and promote the working conditions of shipboard officers and crew by making concerted efforts to allocate adequate resource to increase inspection up to 15 percent of ship calls.

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), formerly the National Maritime Authority (NMA) is responsible for regulations related to Nigerian shipping, maritime labour and coastal waters. The agency also undertakes inspections and provides search and rescue services. The governing board includes representatives of the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Transport and the Navy.

Nigerian water ways have come under serious threat of sort due to criminal activities of pirates. Recently, the Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Joseph Aikhomu raised the alarm over the numerous security threats plaguing the Gulf of Guinea.

According to him, these have a bad impact on the development of the region.

At a media chat in Calabar, Cross River State capital, Aikhomu disclosed that some of the pressure included sea robbery and piracy, crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, unreported and unregulated fishing, drug and human trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

At the event, Aikhomu revealed that the Nigerian Navy was in partnership with the United States of America’s Office of the Security Cooperation to organise a Regional Maritime Awareness Capability Conference for countries in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to the FOC, the conference was as a result of the necessity to have a comprehensive maritime understanding of Nigeria’s maritime environment, including the Gulf of Guinea.

 “Some of these threats are sea robbery and piracy, crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, unreported and unregulated fishing, drug and human trafficking as well as proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

In reaction to these, the Nigerian Navy, in collaboration with the US Office of the Security Cooperation, has taken the bull by the horns, by organising this conference”, he stated.

“This is with the view to improving maritime domain awareness of the Gulf of Guinea and the need for member states to collaborate in terms of intelligence gathering and information sharing.”

He further said the expanded economic activities in the gulf were what gave rise to renewed interest within the region. FOC also stated that the Nigerian Navy was determined to ensure that the Nigeria maritime sphere of influence was safe against unwholesome practices.

According Aikhomu, the command has increased the existing maritime security through surveillance systems located along coastlines to improve total awareness of the environment.

He said the conference was designed to further extend the coverage to the entire Gulf of Guinea through the collaboration of member-states. Ghana, Cameroun, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Benin Republic, Senegal and Togo share boundaries with Nigeria.