Commentaries

How Safe Are Nigerian Ports Amidst Rising Insecurity

In recent times, the security architecture of the country has come under ceaseless bombardment by insurgents and militants, stretching its security personnel and their expertise to their limit. Daily attacks by militants, kidnappers, armed bandits and all shades of criminals have become the order of the day.

The whole nation seems to be under siege while the people are in morbid fear of these marauders whose activities and scope of operations defy any geographical restriction.

At first, it seemed their activities were concentrated to one section of the country, but recent happenings have shown that their heinous acts are now permeating through the geographical boundaries.

Though we acknowledge the relentless efforts of our security agents and the unfettered support of government to curtail the menace but we are worried about how secured our port facilities are.

Are the Nigerian ports immune to the sweeping wave of insurgency and armed banditry?

Our worries may seem ridiculous and far-fetched to some industry stakeholders given the huge, multi-layers security architecture at the ports.

We recognize the special security arrangement at the port as a security zone which is well fortified through compliance with various security protocols as espoused by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), especially the International Ships and ports security (ISPS) Code.

The combined efforts of relevant government agencies at the ports such as Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) which is the Designated Authority (DA) of the ISPS Code, Marine Police and Navy seem to make the port environment almost a fortress.

But sadly, this fortress is not impregnable.

Despite the array of security arrangements, the Nigerian Ports have their fair share of security challenges, especially insecurity at sea such as piracy and sea robberies.

The year 2020 and 2021 have witnessed a spike in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea while there have been pockets of attacks on the Nigerian waters.

Few years ago, specifically in 2018, vessels were attacked on the anchorage before the concerted efforts of security agents with the active support of relevant government agencies eventually helped to stem the tide.
However, our concern is not on insecurity on waters because we are encouraged by the synergy and concerted efforts of all the port security agencies to arrest the ugly trend.
But our fear is insecurity on land, especially access to the ports.
How secured are our port infrastructure from attacks?

How vulnerable to attacks are port users who daily throng the ports and mill around the ports environment?

How secured are the access to our ports, especially the Lagos ports which are the heart of the Nigerian ports system?

What crowd control measures do the relevant authorities put in place to check or discourage the unrestricted movement of unauthorized persons into the ports which are supposed to be restricted and security zones?
Recently, one of the core stakeholders in the Port industry, Ascano Russo, the Managing Director of PTML Terminal, raised alarm about the unrestricted influx of unauthorized persons loitering around the port area and asked the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority to check the menace.
He said there was an urgent need to beef up security in the port, especially at this time, to guide against any future attacks on the port.

He was speaking against the backdrop of the recent Endsars mayhem unleashed on most parts of the country, especially the Port City of Lagos.

He warned that the situation at Tin Can Island was still very precarious.

“There are far too many people walking around the port and it is not clear what they are doing”

We share the fears of Russo and other concerned stakeholders who are miffed at the numbers of people milling around the ports daily.

We are no less worried about the insecurity on waters but we are convinced of the abilities and capabilities of the designated authority with the support of other relevant security agencies to curtail the menace.
We are equally certain that any possible attack may not come through the sea, which is the exclusive preserve of the dare-devil pirates because the attackers know the almost impregnable security arrangement from that axis.

At the risk of being labeled alarmists, we call on government to give equal attention to security on access to the ports as it gives to the waterways.

Nigerian ports, especially the Lagos ports to us, are vulnerable to attacks due to the topography of the place.

Unlike most of the ports in the world which are far removed from residential areas, Lagos ports have a unique attribute.

The ports are located within residential areas which have abridged their further expansion.

This location, to our mind, exposes the Lagos ports to security challenges, especially the type the country is currently battling with.

The location, which places the ports in constant clashes and competition for survival with the host community, has made the ports vulnerable to possible attacks, especially from the type ravaging the country.

The malignant traffic gridlock at the Lagos ports which has made the place a theatre of confusion and disorderliness further accentuates the problem.

People of malicious intentions could easily slip through the daily bedlam playing out on the access roads, unnoticed, into the ports.

Their entry will be a lot easier as the security agents pay more attention on how much money they could extort from the hapless truckers than to bother with the type of people gaining entry into the ports.

In as much as we do not want to sound as prophets of doom, we urge the government to be proactive and take pre-emptive measures to stave off any possible attack from the land.

As greater attention is on security on waters which is not out of place, it would be unwise not to put up an impregnable security system in and around our ports.

With all these reports of kidnapping, suicide bombing, wanton killings, armed banditry, relevant government agencies should begin to think on how to monitor movements in and around the ports.

Nigerian Ports have no monitoring and surveillance system nor technologically advanced means or gadgets that can help detect attacks before they are unleashed.

How impenetrable are the ports with the crop of security operatives wielding batons and who can compromise to allow anyone an entry?

Insecurity has grown to a height that has almost dwarfed government efforts at curtailing it.

Just when you think it is being curtailed, it comes in another dimension, with much ferocity.

Though insecurity is a global challenge, governments of other nations are working so hard to be ahead of the perpetrators.

Can the same be said of Nigeria?

As the insecurity festers, especially now that it is spreading like harmattan fire, government should be proactive in putting necessary security apparatus in place to forestall any unfortunate development.

We call on the Federal Government not to lose sight of the remote chances of the ports being attacked, if left unguarded, by these insurgents who usually look for soft targets where they can record maximum effects.

We are not prophets of doom but merely asking government to be alive to its responsibilities of securing the nation and its people, including the port environment against the new wave of attacks in the country.

It would be stretching lethargy to its breaking point to assume that our worries are misplaced and unfounded.

It would be height of lackadaisical response to dismiss our fears and say they only exist in our imagination as such cannot happen in Nigeria.

American government never, in its wildest imagination, believed 9/11 attacks by terrorists could happen when the terrorists struck at the heart of American security fortress, the Pentagon.

The attacks in France should serve as enough lessons for Nigeria to safeguard the seaports which serve as the gateway to the economy.

An attack on the seaports is an attack on Nigeria’s underbelly.

Even though our position is far-fetched but in security architecture, nothing is and should be left to chance, especially during this tempestuous time.

A comprehensive monitoring and surveillance system should be put in place at our ports to forestall any unforeseen circumstances and send a strong warning to individuals or groups with sinister motives.

In line with this, we urge the NPA to provide Close Circuit Television (CCTV) at the port gates for close monitoring of people coming in and going out.

In addition, the NPA should introduce electronic access card system similar to the one being operated by the Port and Terminal Multi-Services Limited (PTML) as a means of crowd control.

We are aware that each terminal operator has stringent crowd control mechanism into their facilities; it would not be out of place for NPA to complement such efforts.

The government is also advised to mandate all security agents manning the entrance of all ports, especially the Ports Facility Security Officers (PFSOs), not to compromise their sensitive position that could inadvertently allow enemies of the nation into the ports to unleash mayhem.

The government is advised to deploy well trained and equipped security personnel who are versed in the use of modern security gadgets to monitor movement of people and vehicles in and around the port.

Only then could we be convinced that our ports are fortress which is impregnable to attacks from air, land and sea

Commentaries

Beyond Shiny Tech: Why Africa’s smart ports must build plumbing before AI

Monday Discourse with Ibrahim Nasiru

At the African Ports Conference (COPAF 2026) in Casablanca, Morocco, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, dropped a piece of unvarnished realism that should govern all future maritime discourse on the continent.

Speaking on the theme of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, Dantsoho issued a vital warning: African ports must establish effective, uncompromised digital foundations before they rush to deploy artificial intelligence (AI).

In an era where public officials routinely weaponize trendy buzzwords like “AI,” “Big Data,” and “Smart Governance” to perform administrative progress, Dantsoho’s perspective is a refreshing return to structural logic.

Smart ports, he rightly argued, must be measured by tangible operational realities—faster vessel turnaround times, shorter cargo dwell times, lower costs, and watertight revenue accounting—not by the sheer volume of technology purchases.

The numbers coming out of Nigeria’s maritime sector suggest that getting the basic digital foundations right yields immediate economic dividends.

The deployment of foundational tools like the “Eto” truck call-up system, alongside initial frameworks for the Port Community System, catalyzed a staggering 24.8 per cent increase in Nigeria’s cargo throughput.

This foundational digitisation is precisely why the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index recently recorded strong upward trajectory rankings for both the Tin Can Island and Apapa Ports.

But as Nigeria embarks on its massive $1 billion Lagos ports modernization program, we must face the hard, structural truth that lies beneath these celebratory statistics.

Digitisation is not merely about software procurement; it is about political will and institutional harmonization.

For over a decade, Nigeria’s biggest maritime bottleneck has not been a lack of computers, but the fierce, territorial resistance from various state agencies refusing to plug into a single, unified data ledger.

A “Smart Port” cannot exist in a vacuum where customs, immigration, terminal operators, and security agencies run isolated, analogue silos designed to preserve bureaucratic fiefdoms and rent-seeking opportunities.

If the $1 billion modernization fund is spent buying sophisticated AI predictive maintenance tools and automated vessel planning systems while the National Single Window remains structurally sabotaged by agency politics, we will simply end up with a highly automated system that accelerates corruption and bottlenecks.

You cannot run a predictive AI algorithm on data that is manually altered or hidden by a human clearing agent at the wharf.

Dantsoho is entirely correct: we must build the digital plumbing before we chase the AI crown.

Going into 2027, the yardstick for evaluating the NPA’s modernization program must not be the number of smart cameras or automated gates installed.

The true metric of success will be the complete, legally enforced integration of all port stakeholders into a single data ecosystem.

Until the data flows seamlessly and transparently from the vessel to the final exit gate without human friction, any talk of an “AI-driven smart port” is mere window dressing.

We must fix the foundations first, or watch a billion dollars clear out into the ocean of unfulfilled potential.

Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.

Commentaries

Choking in Apapa, idle in Calabar: Fixing Nigeria’s one-sided maritime system

Monday Discourse with Ibrahim Nasiru

For decades, Nigeria has been doing something completely upside down with its maritime business

We have over 850 kilometers of beautiful coastline, yet we force almost all our international trade to squeeze through just two choked locations: Apapa and Tin Can Island in Lagos.

The result? Nightmare traffic jams, crazy demurrage fees, and local businesses dying because their goods are trapped at sea for weeks.

But from what we saw at the World Maritime Day celebration in Lagos, a real, common-sense change might finally be on the horizon.

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, laid out a very clear plan under the theme, “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence.” ,

He promised that the government is fully committed to modernizing ports outside Lagos—specifically Onne, Warri, and Calabar—while building new deep seaports in places like Ondo, Ibom, and Bonny.

He also unveiled a big drive to train young Nigerian sailors to global standards so they can compete for jobs anywhere in the world.

As an analyst who looks at the actual numbers, this is where we need to pay close attention.

The ministry has already scored some big wins. Getting the United States Coast Guard to lift its long-standing security restrictions on ships coming from Nigeria is a massive deal.

It means fewer delays, lower shipping insurance costs, and cheaper goods for ordinary Nigerians when those savings drop down the supply chain.

Also, moving our local fish production from 1.1 million to 1.4 million metric tonnes shows that things are actually moving.

However, during her keynote presentation at the event, maritime expert, Mrs. Mfon Ekong Usoro, hit the nail on the head.

She reminded stakeholders that Nigeria’s maritime future depends entirely on moving from sound paperwork to actual, visible results.

Let’s tell ourselves the home truth: the real success of Oyetola’s ministry will not be judged by the fine speeches or brilliant policies presented at luxury hotels.

It will be judged by how quickly we can break the monopoly of the Lagos ports.

Opening up the eastern and southern ports is no longer just a good idea; it is a matter of economic survival.

When you make Onne, Warri, and Calabar fully functional, you instantly bring life back to regional economies, create thousands of local jobs, and make things cheaper for tens of millions of citizens living outside the South-West.

But a port is completely useless if you cannot get goods out of it. You cannot run a modern port if you rely only on heavy trucks fighting broken roads.

Oyetola’s ministry must work hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Transport. We need to see working rail lines laid straight into the ports of Onne and Calabar, connecting them directly to Inland Dry Ports like Baro and Onitsha.

Also, the government must use the new Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency(NPERA) Act to completely crush the official corruption, crazy hidden charges, and delays that have historically scared international shipping lines away from our eastern ports.

The roadmap is there, and the international community is already noticing through the lifted US security restrictions.

Now, the federal government needs the political muscle to build the rail and road connections to back it up.

It is time to move from policy to practice, open up our eastern waterways, and let the whole country breathe.

Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja

Commentaries

The Olokola Conundrum: DP World, Dangote, and ghosts of Nigeria’s contractual sanctity

Monday Discourse with Ibrahim Nasiru

The Ogun State Government’s recent signing of a $7 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Paris with Dubai’s DP World has been loudly celebrated by state publicists as a monumental triumph for foreign direct investment.

The ambitious agreement aims to develop the Gateway Deep Sea Port and the Blue Marine Special Economic Zone within the strategic Olokola axis.

However, to seasoned watchers of Nigeria’s industrial policy and maritime concessions, this fresh diplomatic foray triggers a profound sense of deja vu.

By overlapping a fresh international agreement onto a maritime asset where the Dangote Group still holds an active, multi-billion naira partnership and controlling stake, the current administration is navigating a legal and political minefield.

The Olokola project is not a blank canvas; it is a highly contested zone haunted by historical policy reversals and unresolved sovereign commitments.

To understand the volatile structural foundations of Olokola, one must revisit its ambitious inception in 2004.

Conceived under the visionary yet politically fraught collaboration between former Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State and the late Governor Olusegun Agagu of Ondo State, the Olokola Free Trade Zone was designed to be the ultimate crown jewel of Nigeria’s maritime and energy independence.

It attracted an elite, multi-billion dollar investment profile, headlined by the ill-fated Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas (OKLNG) project, backed by global giants including the NNPC, Shell, Chevron, and the BG Group.

Yet, despite its peerless economic blueprint, the entire enterprise famously collapsed under the weight of inter-state political rivalries, bureaucratic paralysis, and sudden federal policy shifts.

When international oil companies pulled out due to a lack of institutional guarantees, local conglomerates like the Dangote Group stepped in to secure strategic stakes, preserving the asset’s industrial viability for the future.

Bypassing this historical footprint without a clean legal resolution is an invitation to systemic friction.

Therefore, the current strategy of double tracking agreements over the exact same geographical and maritime asset represents a dangerous institutional risk.

While the state’s aggressive drive to unlock the economic potential of the Ogun coastline and expand the nation’s blue economy is highly commendable, courting a Middle Eastern maritime giant like DP World while ignoring an existing domestic investor creates severe legal vulnerabilities.

In global shipping and port development, international operators look for absolute clarity regarding terminal operations, land titles, and concession limits

You cannot sustainably attract premium global capital by exposing them to immediate, multi-billion naira litigation from entrenched domestic players who have already sunk enormous resources into the zone’s foundational layout.

International project financiers and global port operators do not just look at shiny executive MoUs signed in European capitals; they look closely at local title security, asset de-risking, and a host state’s history of respecting contract sanctity.

If Nigeria is to successfully position its emerging seaports as competitive hubs within the West African sub-region, it must learn to operate under the global standard of a landlord port model where rights are clearly defined and legally unassailable.

Overlapping political promises only serve to drive away serious developers and delay actual infrastructure delivery.

The global investment community is watching how Nigeria treats its premier industrial actors, and any sign of flip-flopping on contractual terms acts as a major red flag for foreign direct investment.

Ultimately, if Ogun State truly wants the Olokola Deep Seaport to transition from a twenty year boardroom dream into a world class maritime reality, it must aggressively clear its legal debts first.

The administration must pivot away from performative international signings and sit down at a transparent renegotiation table to cleanly buy out or harmonize interests with the Dangote Group.

Failing to do so will ensure that this $7 billion UAE deal suffers the exact same paralyzing fate as the 2004 OKLNG blueprint.

In the high stakes theater of global infrastructure, true economic growth is built on the unyielding sanctity of existing laws and contracts—not on the shifting sands of political expediency.

Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja