Israeli shipyard suspected of bribery in Nigerian warship deal

Israeli officials have arrested three Israel Shipyards employees over a suspected bribery scandal involving the sale of Shaldag patrol boats to the Nigerian Navy.

According to The Times of Israel, three senior Israel Shipyards figures were arrested in Haifa on 18 March on suspicion of bribing a Nigerian official in exchange for supplying the patrol boats. They are suspected of bribery, fraud, money laundering, tax offenses and breaching export laws.

The Nigerian Navy received at least four Shaldag Mk II patrol boats between 2009 and 2013, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers database.

Nigeria’s Vanguard reported last week that the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions recommended cancelling the $195 million contract saying it would lead to capital flight.

Nigeria has acquired other defence products and services from Israel in the past, including Aerostar unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and a Falcon Eye maritime surveillance system. The latter was inaugurated in June 2016. It is designed in Israeli by Asia Global Technology but manufactured by United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Falcon Eye Technology. It uses a number of electro-optic systems and cameras operated from a command centre to detect and pinpoint vehicular and human movements. Nigeria’s system has a range of up to 35 nautical miles from the coast and uses six electro-optical stations to monitor vessels, aircraft and offshore platforms.

jakeporeshenko:

Unknown country

jakeporeshenko:
NN flags off Obangame express 2018

Frumentum:


What's the objective of the Obangame exercises, from a West African perspective? I ask only because the professed objective from the Western partners has remained the same all these years. With that in mind, what's the intent and objectives of the individual West African Navies who partake? Specifically, the different navies in the region are developmentally and capability-scaled than each other, so what observable benefit can they derive from an exercise whose parameters and scenarios - from the western naval planning perspective - remain the same?
Or is it a case where the more advanced West African nations send their less-experienced personnel to get up-skilled?

Frumentum:


What's the objective of the Obangame exercises, from a West African perspective? I ask only because the professed objective from the Western partners has remained the same all these years. With that in mind, what's the intent and objectives of the individual West African Navies who partake? Specifically, the different navies in the region are developmentally and capability-scaled than each other, so what observable benefit can they derive from an exercise whose parameters and scenarios - from the western naval planning perspective - remain the same?
Or is it a case where the more advanced West African nations send their less-experienced personnel to get up-skilled?

jakeporeshenko:

It’s mostly about policing west African waters, fight against piracy, illegal fishing and other illegalities.
I don’t think it has any strategic goal.

Odunayaw:
WA navies have been able to standardize response to piracy,illegal fishing(to an extent) etc.
Furthermore the exercise has really removed some distrust between the participants (this my perspective as a Nigerian)

Frumentum:


Yes I'm aware of that. But the point is this: what do the West African navies aim to get out of it? Planning is always by Africacom and NATO with unchanging scenarios - reflecting their interests and outlook - so at what point are the West African Navies put in charge of planning and start determining scenarios and assets?
Real training among equals, not one party coming to conduct pupillage.

Frumentum:


Yes I'm aware of that. But the point is this: what do the West African navies aim to get out of it? Planning is always by Africacom and NATO with unchanging scenarios - reflecting their interests and outlook - so at what point are the West African Navies put in charge of planning and start determining scenarios and assets?
Real training among equals, not one party coming to conduct pupillage.

jakeporeshenko:

No Frum if you don’t know just ask, planning begins when they arrive our waters, why do you think I they dock for about a week before the actual exercise commences.

“Command post training and coordination for #obangameexpress is underway in preparation for next week's at-sea maritime security scenarios. #Ghana (U.S. Navy photos by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Theron J. Godbold/Released)”

Frumentum:


That's not when planning starts!!! I've liaised with Canadian, French, Ghanaian, Nigerian, UK and US planners on Obangame through the years. I do this for a living and it's been enhanced the last few years the SANDF has had observers on the exercise.
Ordinarily I'd say let's agree to disagree. But you're just plain wrong.

dyydxx:


Thank you. Been waiting for real coherent answers. Can you educate me on the end game here? why would ISWAP return the girls without getting anything in return? does that even make any sense? Also why did they leave out one girl, or doesn't the agreement to return the girls cover that one?

Odunayaw:
No be really distraction, na money as Dayo rightly said. As it is sef na gidigbo NAF de use wrestle money from those agbada wearing scoundrels. Just imagine CAS including in the budget Full system of Sky dragon 50 ADS @ $70m then one Senator Olodo from an opposition blows it out of proportion and a political intifada starts.
I am not at ease too but I have come to understand the situation we are in. When the JFs come in, I will begin to furiously wag my tongue for assets needed to defend them

jakeporeshenko:

Obviously they make plans before they leave their country and sail towards the Gulf of Guinea, but plans are finalized here no ?
I mean the actual content of the exercise.

Anyways like you said it’s your occupation so no need to argue with you, the exercise doesn’t have any strategic impact or goal, every year it’s the same same visit board search and seizure and firefighting.

rka2:


http://www.akelicious.net/2018/03/dapchi-dss-reveals-condition-boko-haram.html

dyydxx:


I'm even more confused. So they came to abduct the girls to have standing just to be able to negotiate 'cessation of hostilities'. There are unconfirmed reports the last girl is being brought back now. If the end game is to negotiate a ceasefire why does it have to take an abduction and loss of lives to achieve that? why can't the back channels just request that straightup?

This whole thing is absurdly insane.

jakeporeshenko:
Exercise Obangame Express 2018 (OE18), which is sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), is designed to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness (MDA), information-sharing practices, and tactical interdiction expertise to enhance the collective capabilities of Gulf of Guinea and West African nations to counter sea-based illicit activity.

Sizzorkay:



No such thing as money gotten from the South.
And states aren't in charge of funding warfare, that's the job of the federal Govt, states can help with facilities and other logistics, access to state detention centers, vehicles etc, but Money that comes from the Fed belongs to all Nigerians, not South, not anywhere else.
People in the North also pay taxes, easterners do too, and yes there is also oil money, but that's not the only arena the Fed Govt gets money from.
Now before anyone bite off my head, let's keep it civil, correct me if I'm wrong

Frumentum:


Precisely my point. The Exercise has been the same since inception. So what progress can we say has been made?
Sea-borne thieves still put to shore in Douala, transfer their cargo to a littoral vessel off Lagos, and a tanker off Senegal transfers the cargo to the international markets. Without Obangame we can monitor such activities in Silvermine, Cape Town, pass on info to Ghana for example, that they've not received from Nigeria or Cameroun. So what's the point, besides Africom ticking a box so Congress may continue funding them?

dyydxx:


Having your child back brings the Joy, the only thing i'm not sure of is having the wild jubilation in the presence of the kidnappers as they drop off my kid. If the children were returned by 3rd parties(Police or Army or even strangers), I can understand that behavior.

Omololu2121:
how much is borno state contributing to the Federal purse?

Nonsense

Northerners are parasite

Sizzorkay:
That's a pretty sad way of thinking, if you did at all.

jakeporeshenko:

Ohhhhh now I get, you should have made this point in your initial post. I thought you were asking a genuine question meanwhile you already knew the answer to it, I guess what you’re trying to say is Africom is a scam ? Or it’s multinational exercises.

jakeporeshenko:
Appreciation post, my favorite Nigerian defense correspondent.
Brenda Uji