NIGERIA: TRAWLER OWNERS' ASSOCIATION QUESTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LAGOS 000192 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W, AF/EX AND INR/AA STATE PASS FOR USAID/AFR/WA TWAY, AFR/SD DATWOOD, AND EGAT MOTT STATE PASS TO USTR-AGAMA GABARONE FOR PHIL DROUIN DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS AND 3130/USFC/OIO/ANESA/DHARRIS TREASURY FOR PETERS AND HALL RHMFIUU/COMUSNAVEUR NAPLES IT FOR ANAGGIAR RHPHOGB/COMUSNAVEUR NAPLES IT E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2018 TAGS: PGOV KCOR KCRM MCAP EFIS NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: TRAWLER OWNERS' ASSOCIATION QUESTIONS NIGERIAN NAVY CAPABILITIES REF: A. 08 LAGOS 384 ¶B. 08 LAGOS 409 ¶C. O8 LAGOS 434 Classified By: Consul General Donna Blair, Reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) During the Africa Partnership Station (APS) visit of the USS Nashville to Lagos March 17 to 27, APS staff and Pol-EconOff met with representatives of the Nigerian Trawler Owners' Association (NITOA) to discuss piracy and sea robbery in Nigerian waters. The President of NITOA, Margaret Orakwusi, stressed that since 2006 there have been over 300 reported incidents of piracy or sea robbery in Nigerian waters and to date not a single pirate has been arrested. Orakwusi detailed numerous incidents where the Nigerian Navy had been informed of on-going attacks on fishing trawlers yet failed to respond in any way. Orakwusi warned that since robbers using water transport had no risk of arrest, the waterways would increasingly become the transport network for criminals engaged in attacks on land based as well as seaborne targets. (Note: On March 22 a Lebanese worker was kidnapped from a construction site on Victoria Island in the heart of Lagos by men who attacked from the water using power boats. End Note.) Orakwusi expressed doubt that the Nigerian Navy is capable of responding to the growing problem regardless of the equipment and training provided to them. At present Nigerian pirates are not making the same sort of attacks on large ships as are the Somali pirates, but the trends are alarming and Post believes the threat should be taken seriously. End Summary. Piracy in Nigerian Waters Worse than Reported -------------- ¶2. (C) The President of the Nigerian Trawler Owners' Association, Margaret Orakwusi, told APS staff members and Pol-EconOff on March 24 that there had been more than 300 reported incidents of piracy and sea robbery in Nigerian waters since 2006. She indicated that the number of incidents was probably higher because not all incidents are reported. Furthermore, frequency and intensity of the attacks are increasing, according to Orakwusi, and she believes that if trends continue the situation in the Gulf of Guinea will soon be as bad as or worse than that off the coast of Somalia. Nigerian Navy Reluctant to Engage Armed Sea Robbers -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Orakwusi stressed that despite repeated and urgent calls to the Nigerian Navy - all the way to the Chief of Naval Staff - not one pirate or sea robber has ever been apprehended, no pirate jetty located and destroyed, and not once has a distress call been answered with action on the part of the Navy. Orakwusi described incidents in which pirates hijacked a fishing trawler and remained on board as long as three days without the Nigerian Navy taking any action. At present, she stated, Nigeria has no institutional capability of responding to any kind of emergency at sea in Nigerian waters, whether it is a pirate attack, a fire aboard ship, or a man overboard. She cited a recent incident of a wounded crewman drifting for over eight hours before being picked up by chance by a passing tug boat. ¶4. (C) Asked to what she attributed the Navy's lack of response, Orakwusi mentioned insufficient or inappropriate vessels as one issue, pointing out that the Nigerian Navy lacks the capability of maintaining or repairing its equipment, in contrast to the trawler industry. Orakwusi also noted that most Nigerian Navy personnel come from the Niger Delta and share the widespread attitude of Niger Delta LAGOS 00000192 002 OF 003 residents that the oil produced in the region really belongs to them - not the Federal Government in Abuja. This attitude, according to Orakwusi, is behind the notorious complicity of the Nigerian Navy in large scale theft of crude oil. Orakwusi believes that many of the pirates operate from the same jetties as oil thieves and probably also engage in illegal oil bunkering. She said this explains the Navy's reluctance to confront pirates and armed sea robbers operating from the region. Seaborne Robbers Pose Threat to Land -------------- ¶5. (C) Whether the Navy is complicit or merely incapable, Orakwusi pointed out that the absence of response from the Nigerian Navy to seaborne threats means that in effect any robber who uses the sea as his mode of transport can be assured of success and impunity. Orakwusi argued that whereas a robber on land stands at least a 50/50 chance of being arrested, a sea robber need not fear for his life or liberty. This, she warned, will encourage robbers to use sea transportation not only to attack ships and trawlers, but targets on land. (Note: On March 22 a Lebanese worker was kidnapped from a creek-side construction site on Victoria Island in the heart of Lagos by men who attacked from the water using power boats. End Note.) Piracy Contributes to Illegal Fishing -------------- ¶6. (C) According to Orakwusi, sea robbers and pirates are contributing to the already serious problem of illegal fishing in Nigerian waters. She claimed that when fishing trawlers are hijacked or robbed, their catch is taken and sold to large, foreign-owned factory ships operating illegally in Nigerian waters. Because these ships are not compliant with Nigerian laws and their catch is neither controlled nor registered, there is a real danger of over-fishing. Orakwusi said that the large, off-shore ships engaged in large-scale poaching are predominantly Asian in origin. Trawler Owners Ready to Help Finance a Coast Guard -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Orakwusi advocates the creation of a Nigerian Coast Guard dedicated to protecting Nigerian marine resources and providing maritime safety and security. She argued that a new body should be established from the ground up, provided with the appropriate training and equipment to deal with the specific issues of coastal waters from poaching and piracy to search and rescue. Orakwusi stated that her organization and its members would be willing to help finance the costs of creating such a force, provided transparency and accountability for funds was assured; in short, the money would come "with strings attached" so that the donors could ensure it was used in a meaningful way. ¶8. (C) Comment: At present Nigerian pirates do not target the kind of large ships which the Somali pirates do, but the trends are alarming and Post believes the threat should be taken seriously. While NITOA's frustration with the Nigerian Navy and the hope that a new institution like a Nigerian Coast Guard would have higher standards of ethics and training is understandable, it is hard to see why the GON would establish a new military branch. Alternative strategies for addressing the problem therefore need to be explored such as engaging coastal communities in fighting piracy by denying sea robbers bases of operation, training crews in anti-piracy tactics, and encouraging the Nigerian Navy to fulfill its LAGOS 00000192 003 OF 003 mandate to provide security in coastal waters. End Summary. ¶9. (U) This cable has been cleared with Embassy Abuja. HUDSON