Maritime Agencies
INLAND WATERWAYS OF DEATH: WHO IS TO BLAME?

The matter is grim! Every patriot is deeply worried. Whether in Lagos, Yauri, Sokoto, Shiroro, Kebbi or the Niger Delta waters, the increasing loss of lives on the nation’s inland waterways is frightening and can no longer be tolerated. Who actually stands to blame? Who is contributing what to perpetrate what ought to be an exception rather than the rule? Is the carnage persisting because waterway users stubbornly neglect safety measures the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has been championing for years? What is the level of government empowerment to NIWA to address this matter? Is government allocation sufficient to frontally address such a gargantuan problem? IZUCHUKWU OZOEMENA examines the issue following fresh appeals by the inland waterways regulator recently for all hands to be on deck to check what is becoming a national embarrassment.
August 12 – 14, 2014, the National Inand Waterways Auhority (NIWA) hosted her first-ever International Conference and Exhibition (ICE) in Lagos. Tagged NIWA ICE, it was part of continuing efforts to draw global attention to Nigeria’s huge waterway potentials and efforts the agency was making to harness them not only for the benefit of inland waterway users in-country but stakeholders from contiguous nations and even beyond.
From all indications, the theme of the conference, “Modernizing Inland Waterways Infrastructure and Vessels for Safe and Sustainable Inland Waterways Transportation”remains as relevant and apt, eight years after. This is because it falls in line with the imperatives of the moment and present concerns about increasing safety lapses on the waterways and loss of lives being experienced.
The NIWA ICE focused on safety while vigorously projecting the agency’s strategies to compel boat operators and passengers alike to give topmost priority to safe sail on the inland waterways.
FROM THE BEGINNING
Among other responsibilities, the NIWA Act CAP N47, 2004 of January 1, 1996 which established the agency, vested in it the task to “provide regulations for inland waterway navigation.” Unambiguously spelt out in this task is safety on the inland waterways. To what extent has the agency gone to satisfy public expectations in this regard? What role is stakeholders’ attitude of non-compliance to safety rules playing in making it impossible for NIWA to make substantial strides in ensuring safety on the inland waterways? Does NIWA really stand to blame for continuing loss of lives on the waterways when boat passengers, boat drivers and others blatantly flout safety regulations while plying the inland waters?
The present leadership of NIWA under Dr George Moghalu has been facing scathing criticism for what appears an inability to tame the scourge of numerous boat mishaps. This is despite all efforts by the agency to enforce extant safety regulatory measures. However, some stakeholders say that considering the very wide area whose inland waterways it is overseeing, the agency deserves to be adequately empowered to tackle all tasks including incidences of disobedience to safety rules and regulations. For now, the agency lacks what it takes to adequately prevent or preempt some of these deadly occurrences. It can only react to some of them depending on her capability level which reflects the level of empowerment at her disposal.
Shortly after appointment as NIWA Managing Director, Dr George Moghalu undertook a familiarization tour to coastal states and communities to re-assure all and sundry that contrary to negative notions about travelling by water, it remains the fastest, safest and economically-rewarding means of transportation.
At an enlarged media interaction in Lagos early August, Moghalu was at his best when he made efforts to assure stakeholders that much as it may be humanly impossible to achieve absolute perfection, the agency remains committed to ensure an enduring, secure and safer inland waterways. On recurring boat accidents, he commended the media for reporting this at least to increase awareness on the possibility so that operators can caution themselves on the need to comply to safety regulations at all times. However, he blamed a section of the media for not verifying facts before publishing news on the frequency and casualties. He condemned some boat operators and passengers who treat safety matters with levity.
CHALLENGES
Without doubt, the greatest challenge NIWA is yet to overcome is deviant acts that result to avoidable marine accidents. Majority of accidents occur at night. The agency has to devise a far-reaching monitoring and enforcement strategy, night or day, to remain ahead of boat operators who ply the waterways at unholy hours. Strict enforcement of safety precautions, though already in place, is yet to meet expected standards. This is the reason boat accidents still persist even to a frightening proportion being experienced presently.
Jide Okunola, an Apapa-based freight forwarder stated this recently. Okunola who resides in Igbede riverine area of Ojo, told Falcon Watch that most boat drivers who operate along the Badagry-Ojo-Liverpool-Apapa corridor always have a field day because Police patrols take place during the day only. Therefore, he suggested that NIWA must redesign her strategy by engaging local ‘agboros’ and those he described as ‘repented hoodlums’ because “it takes a thief to catch a thief”. According to him, they are already familiar with the terrain and can be very useful in monitoring who is doing what on the waterways especially at night.
These people can be offered incentives to volunteer information because they are on ground more than the Police. Night journeys are common. Nobody checks what happens along the waterways at night”, Okunola regreted. He said that along the stretch, intensive fishing happens in the night; movement of smugglers also take place at night and nobody is available to question those involved. People involved in this act care less about light, wrecks and other obstructions that can cause mishap. Of course, they understand the local geography and can avoid obstacles even in the dark.”
He advised NIWA to realize the need to obtain valid information about what goes on along this stretch through devising a subtle means to identify and befriend some of these night operators so as to have access to needed intelligence on unauthorized night voyages. If this strategy works out on this corridor, he explained, it can be replicated in other areas.
Okunola regretted that all talks about life jackets means nothing to the locals. “In fact, as they rush out to fish at night or scoop sand during the day, life jackets do not matter. For smugglers, the motive is to make it quick. Nothing else is relevant.”
Falcon Watch recalls that at an enlarged stakeholders’ meeting in 2020, Dr Moghalu stated that his cardinal objective was to make water transportation a transport mode of choice. He reiterated this in Lagos recently. “We have tried to provide the needed environment for operators, including training programmes, to expose them to operational standards. Yet, some have chosen the path of desperation and dangerous behavior leading to loss of lives and property.”
MENACE OF WATER HYACINTH
The menace which water hyacinth, the stubborn weed constitutes on the waterways is enormous. This directly impedes navigation for all kinds of vessels. In areas where she has supervisory statutory responsibility, NIWA clears this stubborn weed, Moghalu says.
Following the seasonal embarrassment this weed causes to navigation, NIWA and Lagos State Waterways Authority, LASWA, in 2017, concluded plans to promptly clear it at all times.
At a 2017 joint stakeholders’ meeting with members of the Association of Tourists, Boats and Water Transportation of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) in Lagos, then NIWA Lagos Area Manager, Engr Muazu Sambo admitted that water hyacinth was a critical problem hindering the Agency’s operations. Muazu Sambo who is the current Transportation Minister disclosed that NIWA had acquired equipments to clear it on a permanent basis. “We have acquired equipments to clear water hyacinth; we will deploy them for the purpose,” Sambo said.
INTERVIEW WITH DR GEORGE MOGHALU (in-box)
Q: Frequent boat accidents have become NIWA’s greatest challenge. Does it mean your safety arrangements are not working?
A: We’re doing all what we are expected to do to manage the waterways. But it is sad enough that you find that either by acts of commission or omission, people do not do what they are expected to do. For example, we have placed protocols that vessels don’t move in the night; they don’t move in the early hours of the day. From statistics and reports we receive on accidents that happen, 90% of such accidents happen in the night or early in the morning. What that goes to show is that these vessels don’t have navigational aids. Therefore, they should not move in the night or when it is dark. But people still move in the night. They will avoid the right jetties. At times, they don’t even move from jetties at all; they don’t move at river banks. They move from their vessels, get into the water and expose people to danger. You can’t just leave any of our jetties on your own without being tracked. These jetties are monitored and there are rules that must be obeyed. You cant just get onboard any of our jetties without being fully kitted among which is wearing the right life jacket. Most people don’t even know that these jackets expire. You can’t have an expired life jacket from any of our jetties. You can’t ply from any of our jetties when you are not properly kitted. But to avoid all these, they take people and put them on vessels and expose them to unnecessary and avoidable danger when they are not properly kitted.
Q: People say this is happening because NIWA has not been stringent in punishing offenders by catching and prosecuting them…….
We’re getting them….. We arrested people and tried them. Some people have been convicted. We are still doing that. Even we impound substandard vessels that shouldn’t be on the waterways. We get such vessels; some are destroyed. We keep doing that because every lfe is important to us. We don’t want the waste to continue.
Q: NIWA’s ex-top Manager, Engr Muazu Sambo, is now the Transportation Minister. Do you expect an improved treatment of NIWA matters especially strict enforcement of safety regulations which he championed in the past?
We are always serious and concerned about enforcement of safety standards. We are doing verything to push and actualize them. But don’t forget that much as he was our former staff, he is now the Federal Minister of Transportation and other paratatals are under him. It is not only NIWA that he is overseeing.
Q: The Onitsha River Port was recently concessioned. What is the position of this very large parcel of land and vegetation in the channel directly overlooking the port?
It’s an island; it’s not a bush. We have one or two Chinesecompanies discussing with us on the possibility of developing it.
Q: Still on safety and standards and the need to curb recurring boat mishaps. Any plans on waterway transport codes and standards?
We are putting up transport codes and standards; setting up a task force. Any defaulter we catch we hand over to the Police to prosecute. We are not leaving anything to chance because this is embarrassing. Every life is important to us. The rules area made to be obeyed.
Q: What is the place of technology in all these?
Like you heard me say, boat registration is now done online. We are trying to use technology as much as we can. The next stage is to station cameras to be able to monitor activities on our waterways. So, technology has a key role in all we do.
Q: You brought out some patrol vehicles as well as instituting a task force. What are you doin g to ensure that rules are not only adhered to but operators are abreast of the law?
We are engaging operators. We have created fora where we meet and discuss. A lot of sensitization is going on across the country. Like you said, we bought and distributed patrol vessels .We are empowering and giving all the support to our Police department. We are also setting up task forces that are working across the country to effect protocol when it has to do with boat management.
Q: It appears managing the long stretch of inland waterways across Nigeria is a daunting task for NIWA. Do you support views that it is time the agency is unbundled into three or four zones for easy surveillance and monitoring?
Why unbundle it? We already have too many agencies. We have departments in NIWA that are living up to their responsibilities and expectations in this regard. So, I don’t see why NIWA should be unbundled. I don’t think it is necessary.
Maritime Agencies
Customs Bans Stemming of Containers of Pharmaceutical Products To Bonded Terminals, Hands Over N9.2bn Illegal Importations To NAFDAC

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
Going forward, the Nigeria Customs Service has placed an indefinite ban on the stemming of containers of pharmaceutical products to bonded terminals. This is official.
Customs Controller-General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi announced this in Lagos, Friday, in response to what he referred to as abuses and trade illegalities being perpetrated by offdock facilities.
”We will no longer allow stemming vessels down into offdock facilities. We can allow any other thing but because of the sensitive nature of pharmaceutical products and because of the abuse to which this concession has been subjected in the past, they will only be allowed or cleared in these four designated places: Apapa Port (right inside the port), Onne Port, PTML and at the International Airport. We’ll no longer allow them to be taken into bonded terminals.”
The Controller-General who was in Apapa to hand over 25 containers of unregistered and prohibited pharmaceutical products with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N9.2 billion to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) declared the aim of the restriction. This is to curtail the abuse by bonded terminal operators, many of whom have been implicated in the seizure of fake and unwholesome drugs.
CGC Adeniyi described the seizure of pharmaceutical products as a direct fallout of the strategic Memorandum of Understanding with NAFDAC and the inauguration of the implementation committee between the two bodies in November 2024.
Explaining the Service’s position regarding current licensing fees, he stated that the current licensing fees for bonded terminals in operation stand to be reviewed as they no longer align with current realities, haven been in place for about a decade.
”The increase in the fee of the license has to be such that it will be difficult or impossible for those who are not serious to own and operate a bonded terminal.
”So, we are already in the process of reviewing the license fee. We will carry the stakeholders along and do things that will reflect current situations”.
He acknowledged the role inter-agency collaboration and intelligence-sharing have continued to play in enforcement.
This enhanced cooperation has delivered measurable results in protecting public health and discouraging illicit trade.
”The MOU framework enables Customs and NAFDAC to conduct coordinated operations and joint investigations, systematically tracing illicit pharmaceutical sources and deploying targeted enforcement strategies against criminal networks”.
A rundown of the contents of the
21 forty-foot containers and 4 twenty-foot containers of counterfeit and dangerous pharmaceutical reveals unregistered sexual enhancement drugs like REDSUN and HYEGRA among others.
There are also codeine-containing cough syrups (including CSC brands), antibiotic injections such as oxytetracycline and artesunate, pain relief medications containing diclofenac sodium and paracetamol.
Also included are skin-lightening creams, hip and breast enlargement products and
numerous tablets bearing fake NAFDAC registration numbers. Expired food products, veterinary medications and antimalarial drugs also featured.
“The Nigeria Customs Service, in partnership with NAFDAC and the NDLEA remains uncompromisingly committed to the battle against merchants of death who pursue illicit profits from businesses that destroy lives and communities,” Adeniyi stressed.
“This MOU- facilitated coordination enables swift responses to emerging threats, and I commend the Director-General and her dedicated team whose technical expertise, combined with our enforcement capabilities, has created a formidable barrier against criminal networks seeking to compromise our borders”.
“Under the coordination of the Office of the National Security Adviser, our joint operations have resulted in the seizure of over 200 containers followed by coordinated destruction exercises, with unregistered pharmaceutical products comprising 63.7% of seizure values, highlighting the scale of threats that could have inflicted devastating damage on human lives and our social ecosystem if permitted to infiltrate our markets,” he stated.
Adeniyi who emphasized that the Service has significantly enhanced her intelligence network and technological capabilities to detect and seize unwholesome goods warned all stakeholders including haulage operators, bonded terminal owners, or any other international trade facilitator that anyone implicated in illegality stands to face the full force of the law as there are no sacred cows.
He commended commended officers and men at the Apapa Port Command for being vigilant and professional in their duties.
Maritime Agencies
Lekki Deepsea Port Set To Clinch 500,000 TEUs, Becomes Trans-shipment Hub In West Africa

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
Yang Xixiong, the Chief Operating Officer, Lekki Port has said the deepsea port which commenced operations in 2023 has come to place Nigeria in her rightful position as a shipping hub that has assumed her rightful position and relevance in regional and global economy.
The CEO who disclosed this in Lagos,Thursday, while rubbing minds with members of the press assured that the new port has stabilized and would, going forward,continue to raise the bar of relevance to international standards.
“We continue to push the envelope, set the bar higher to uphold our position as West Africa’s deepest sea port,” Xixiong announced.

A section of critical facilities at the Lekki Deepsea Port.
“The result of our unrelenting commitment to world-class standards is visible in the gigantic footprints we are putting on the map of maritime trade in Africa, deploying technology, driving operational efficiency, and shaping regional trade,” he added.
Already, Lekki Port has commenced trans-shipment operations to some regional ports in West Africa such as Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
In his intervention, Daniel Odibe, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, who spoke further on the increase in trans-shipment capacity added that recently, Lekki Deepsea Port conducted a trial trans-shipment to Onne Port.
Odibe said, “We had our first trans-shipment operations in 2023, which is the first in the Nigerian economy.
Between January and June, 2025, the port processed 222,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of cargo and has her hands steadily on the plough to jerk up the performance so as to achieve the targetted record of 500,000 TEUs by the end of the year, a development that reflects a growing confidence in the port’s ability to achieve maximum operational capacity as per international standards.
“Before now, countries like Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire used to be the trans-shipment hubs for Nigeria-bound cargoes. You know what that means for our cargo? They spend more time coming to us. They incur more costs because they are double-handled in those trans-shipment hubs, all because Nigeria didn’t have a deep-sea port.
”The story is in our favour right now. We are now talking about international trans-shipment. We are now doing international trans-shipment to other West African countries such as Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Togo and Cotonou.
”Currently, you have ports like Warri, Calabar, Onne, and then we have inland ports like Onitsha and Burutu. Some of these ports, foreign vessels don’t go there because the draft is low. So the idea here is to have cargoes for those ports. That will open up economic opportunities in those areas.
“We did some trials last year with Onne. It had some challenges, but again, it was an eye-opener and we are looking at restarting that again this year in collaboration with the shipping lines and baggage operators.”
On cargo throughput volume, Odibe assured that cargo volumes are now gradually improving steadily despite initial hiccups arising from instability in the rate of the Dollar.
Currently, the port receives between 10-12 vessels every month. The record, he added, is steadily picking up.
“Volumes fell because of Naira depreciation and the removal of fuel subsidy; this caused a setback in our projection. As of 2023, when we started operations, we did 54,289 TEUs, and as of June of this year, we have done 222,000, and we are projecting 500,000 TEUs.”
Odibe also stated that the vessel turnaround time at Lekki Port currently stands at 48 hours as against one hour and 25 minutes for truck turnaround time, while cargo dwell time is 16 days.
Maritime Agencies
MAMAL 2025: MARAN Demands End to War Risk Premium, Set to Expose Maritime Fraud in Gulf of Guinea.

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
Come August 28, 2025, the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) will host the 3rd edition of her annual Maritime Lecture (MAMAL) at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.
This year’s lecture will spotlight the ongoing international fraud perpetrated by foreign shipping lines under the guise of “War Risk Premiums” on vessels calling at Nigerian ports, aiming to draw the Federal Government’s urgent attention to the issue.
Speaking on the theme of MAMAL 2025 which is “Addressing the Burden of War Risk Insurance on Nigerian Maritime Trade,”MARAN President, Mr. Godfrey Bivbere, strongly condemned the war risk insurance, describing it as an international fraud burdening the economy of Nigeria and other developing countries in the Gulf of Guinea.
The extra war risk insurance (WRI) levied on Nigeria-bound vessels varies significantly. For instance, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) can incur a WRI surcharge of $445,000 per voyage, while a new container vessel may face a charge of $525,000 per voyage. Beyond this, some shipping companies such as Maersk, have introduced additional fees like a transit disruption surcharge, while others impose a war risk surcharge of $40-$50 per 20-foot container.
MARAN contends that these exorbitant charges are further strangulating Nigeria’s already-strained economy.
Also, despite Nigeria’s Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola recently confirming that Nigeria has not recorded a single pirate incident in the past three years, the imposition of war risk premiums continues unabated.
Oyetola credits this peace in the Gulf of Guinea to the multi-billion naira Deep Blue Project, a robust maritime security initiative spearheaded by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Despite these commendable efforts by the Federal Government, MARAN is concerned that foreign shipping lines continue to unjustly extract millions of dollars from Nigerian shipowners in the name of War Risk Insurance Premium, even though there are no demonstrable risks in the region.
In March 2025, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Director General of NIMASA, met with a delegation from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Kristin Skov-Spilling, where he passionately appealed to the international community to acknowledge Nigeria’s significant progress in securing its waters. He emphasized the critical need for a corresponding reduction in war risk insurance costs.
Dr. Mobereola stated, “The Nigerian government has demonstrated a strong commitment to maritime security, leading to nearly zero incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea over the past four years. Despite this, vessels coming to Nigeria continue to pay high war risk premiums, which is unjustifiable given the improved security landscape.”
Speaking further on the upcoming MAMAL Annual Maritime Lecture 2025, MARAN President Godfrey Bivbere asserted that international shipping companies operating in Nigeria have shown “lackadaisical and complacent attitude towards the economic and social wellbeing of Nigeria as a nation.”
He explained that MAMAL 2025 aims to thoroughly examine the perceived threats, realities, and profound implications of persistent Extra War Risk Insurance (EWRI) on Nigeria’s maritime trade and the wider Gulf of Guinea (GoG).
Providing more details about the highly anticipated conference, which has consistently served as a crucial rallying point for all maritime stakeholders due to MARAN’s respected voice, Bivbere added:
”The Summit will also explore issues leading to the classification of the nation’s waters as high-risk zones, roles of classification societies like the Lloyds of London, the roles of core stakeholders like NIMASA, Nigerian Navy and other maritime and security operators.”
According to Bivbere, “The MAMAL 2025 is expected to draw over 500 key stakeholders, including maritime security experts, shipowners, terminal operators, international shipping lines, diplomats, insurers, regulators, and legal experts.”
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