Pirates of Africa: Abductions and Ransom | Villains of the Sea, or Local Heroes? Pirates Documentary

now my area foreign these men are the  Pirates of the 20th century   armed with kalashnikovs and rocket  launchers they attack the oil plants   in Nigeria to kidnap expatriates the leader is  John Togo the Most Wanted Man in the country kidnapping makes these Pirates hundreds of  thousands of dollars they attack the oil companies   who they accuse of plundering the wealth of their  country without paying anything back to the people what do you target my target  is Pipelines the jackets they are my targets why why because they are the  people setting the commotion in Niger Delta why   do you say that they are not sincere they don't  give what belongs to us they collaborated with   our evil leaders so you're ready to die for the  for your cause God has sent me to justify the   people of Niger Delta therefore I will not  die I will leave I have no choice with them these are the last images of  John Togo ten days after we   left the rebel leader and a dozen of  his men were killed in an Army attack   his death didn't end piracy in Nigeria on  the contrary it has exploded since then Ultra violent pirate gangs spread Terror in  the Niger Delta using powerful speed boats   they storm oil platforms throughout  the region kidnapping and ransoming how much do you think you could get if you would  kidnap me from you at least 50 50 million naira   these Pirates are the nightmare  of the oil industry causing them   to lose dozens of millions of dollars each month Lagos the economic capital of Nigeria a booming  City where new building developments grow like   mushrooms Nigeria is the biggest economic power  in Africa but is also a country of extremes   absolute poverty stands next to  the biggest wealth on the continent   a fortune that is built on the country's Black  Gold Nigeria is the El Dorado of African oil   all the big companies are there like shell  Chevron total and ajib with a production of   two million barrels per day Nigeria is the  sixth biggest exporter of OPEC its GDP 574   billion dollars this business employs thousands  of expatriates Rich pickings for the Pirates   in 2015 They carried out 73  attacks and kidnapped 62 people the aim of my trip to meet a gang of pirates  we arrive at wari the main city in the Delta   here 70 of the population live on less than a  dollar per day the life expectancy is 47 years so here I am in the city of worry in the middle of  the Niger Delta we're driving quite fast because   worry is well known for high rates of criminality  and a lot of abductions that's why I have an   escort vehicle in front with three armed soldiers  on board they're here to stop me getting kidnapped   by groups who specialize in this activity in  a city where this is unfortunately commonplace in the center the armed men who accompanied  me get out of the vehicle they chase off   curious passersby with their whips once  we found a safe spot I call my contact a   former gorilla he's my go-between with  the Pirates after months of dealings a   group agrees to meet me but there's no  chance of going with my escort foreign the meeting is arranged for by the river I need to go with these men to meet the Gang  they warn me that the Army mustn't see me in   Pirate territory what can be the reaction  of the army if they see me with a camera   here on the river oh good problem very  very big problem what can they do to me   you might be a get arrested they  might arrest you put in somewhere after two hours of navigating the  Labyrinth of the Delta we finally see them a dozen men armed with machine  guns this group of pirates not   only takes hostages they take whole boats last year how many attacks did you do of course  last year of course I extract knowledge that   none less than 15 attacks because we were  not pleased and sometimes do you hijacked   the ship to get money yeah sometimes because  we have nowhere to start from sometimes we   attack the ships to get money usually how  much is it to release the ship it depends   on the the ship we can't even say 200 million  bring 900 million for and when you keep the   member of the cruise you keep them on the ship  on the boat or you have tried for you end of   interview the leader doesn't want to give me  any more details on the taking of hostages the Pirates are unpredictable   it takes several weeks before another gang will  let me talk to them they are also heavily armed they travel on high-speed boats  which allows them to escape the   Army and to rush at the oil rigs they attack their leader is renowned for  his violence he's aggressive   and points his gun at me refusing  an interview at the last minute   the pirate doesn't trust us and  disappears into the mangrove with his men back in France at idic a prestigious Business  School I'm not a journalist but a lecturer   here I teach management of criminal  risk my pupils future Business Leaders hear them to deal with  terrorism cyber crime and piracy that's an AK-47 a machine gun but it's  enough to stop an oil tanker because when   you shoot at a boat which is carrying oil  even with that believe me it stops what's   the risk explosion an oil tanker which  explodes makes for a very big firework   for 10 years I regularly go into the field to meet  those involved in organized crime did you hear that last year we carried out no less  no less than 15 attacks he doesn't   get up for less than a hundred thousand  dollars 15 attacks one hundred thousand   dollars good business right so that's piracy  low-cost and astronomical returns astronomy and above all it has a major  impact on the oil industry measure getting in contact with the Pirates and getting  them to talk is a long and complex process   in the last 10 years I've been to Nigeria 20  times over there I've built up a network of   contacts who keep me informed of any attacks and  of the positions of pirates in the delta I'm back   here today because I've picked up the tracks  of the gang leader that I couldn't interview I decide to try my luck again okay I'm  going into the delta in a speedboat to   meet the leader of the group of pirates that  I saw a few months ago who apparently will   talk to me so I'm going to try and see  if it happens the problems could come   from army patrols the jtf which are incessant  at the moment especially in the area he's in   we're going to try not to get  stopped which hopefully is possible two hours later we're following  a speedboat which has come to   guide us because we have to get around the  patrols and checkpoints which are everywhere they've stopped so I don't think it will be long we arrive at the camp there's the leader he's still aggressive okay okay get down we try to blow your head off okay okay careful not to fall they're pretty wound up and he keeps  pointing his gun at me it's not very pleasant it's okay apparently I can  go move ahead move move move come this way my friend talk to me before I I just want  to talk to you come down please someone   to talk to me how I want to ask questions  questions just few questions okay okay cool that machete was close okay okay okay okay come down I just I  just want to talk questions don't don't uh   don't be scared don't be scared about me  I'm not scared I just I just want to to   ask you a few questions okay come inside  it's okay come inside what inside yes yes the Pirates drink a cocktail of gin and cocaine   they think the mix Wards off  bad spirits okay okay okay I got it all on camera   once sprayed with the mixture I'm allowed to  go behind this so-called protective curtain can I sit oh sit go sit there you want to  sit face to face with me yes okay that's it   can you tell me who you are this is black devil  Alias our crew Omega 5. how many guys do you have   with you 45 men on the ground they are not always  you this time no no that's handsome for operation   which operation operation for any expatriate  kidnapping at the sea okay how does it work when   you do an attack I use normal speed boot this like  200 two-speed boot attack and we come to our camp   me guys do you have about the the speed boat when  you do attack seven pair boot plus the driver   seven man how do you choose your targets when you  do an attack my target it depends on the kind of   security over the ship do you know before if there  is security above the your target or not before   you get there the security means they will open  fire on you okay yeah before you come closer the   Open Fire it happens often that they open fire yes  and so what do you do I ask my boys to open fire   so sometimes you have casualties yes how many men  did you did you lose just one man had you passed   five six years I have operated just as John lost  one man okay and so sometimes you kill soldiers   yeah sure I mean how many people are belonging  to the security did you kill do you soldiers are   killed our accountable maybe 20 minutes are on  the boat maybe a kill three kill five and take   their guns that is the part of my job so once  you have a once you have opened the fire um you   go on board I have a ceasefire and a climb you  climb yes go straight to the engine room and the   captain the captain will ask the captain  to come down how much do you have on board   I have one million I have three million okay  give me if you don't want to release the money   sorry for you you go to hell blow off your  head do you target specific nationalities   yes like those Indians we don't go to Google  for Indians because they are very cheap people   like the Filipinos no very cheap we target  people like you I know if I kidnap you I'll   get much money for myself how much do you think  you could get if you're from you kidnap me from   you at least 50 50 million naira which  are the most bankable hostages to Target   Americans and French how is the ransom paid I will  get the cash I will direct you we have to drop   them I don't use Bank just Street okay take the  money to the social points my men are there to to   collect the money don't go with army don't contact  the police if you do everybody we are watching you   if you make any move we kill your man yeah okay  what what do you do with this money the money   I used to buy ammunitions on speed boats  and the rest to take care of our families   because we don't have a job that  is why we are doing this dirty job   you come to exploit here and you don't want  to employee that is why that is the major   reason why we are doing this you don't want  to employ us and you are exploiting from us you have children I have five children two  are in the University and I don't have a job   how do I train them how do I feed them  how do I pay my house rent anybody   any expatriate companies are coming to  operate here if he does settle with us   you won't operate I swear to God the black  devils are always stand by are you okay it's okay foreign that's their kitchen apparently okay no pleasure so now I'm on the group  Leader's boat who's finally agreed to talk to me   we're going to a spot that he thinks  is safer because there are many army   patrols so we're not going to hang  around and stay too long in this area and hope they stay in those positions oh my God the Pirates Come From little  villages in the Delta communities like   these thousands of people live here  in poverty and unsanitary conditions no water now we are feeling hungry okay  here there are no doctors no medication this old man is treating himself with vitamin C nearby the oil company ajip  operates a drilling plant none of the villagers work there I met by the community chief yeah okay thank you thank you sir thank you so much how many people in the in  the room now 50 at least huh I'm more than 50. what are the  conditions of living of the of   the community first of all if I may say  that we have I ship Oil Company here   what I believe we have no benefit from there so  often now we have no employment nothing nothing   they do not employ anybody of the community at  all on this plant Egypt a Jeep plant close to   here yes we only fish it so you do fishing yes  we do fishing but after years back and up to   this hour there are lesser fishes in the river  yes because of due to this oil spillage you're   calling here and here in the river what do  you think about uh this uh this uh these   people doing Maritime piracy what what is your  opinion about this is due to joblessness foreign but thank God that many of us here  are graduates some are undergraduates   but after your years in school you can be  going back home now you don't have any work   to do what do you think will come to your  mind and you can't go to the river and go   fishing any longer again so if you have  any way to go there you go and do policy   if you die from there well if it is the will of  God let it be so joblessness lead to disciples gone on in Nigeria expatriates live under  constant threat from Pirates oil companies have to invest  massively in security to protect them   exceptionally I'm allowed to film the  security measures in place on an oil platform the platform is 150 kilometers from the coast 160 expatriates work on board to ensure their safety two boats like  this one are constantly circling it on board around 20 Nigerian Naval  fusiliers work under a Frenchman's command Julia is a former Commando in  the Special Forces he has to   remain anonymous we're out at Sea and  the risk of attacks is very present foreign nationalities often from emerging countries  the only ones who'll accept such dangerous   work the captain is Mexican I was attacked  before in the sister vessel from this ship   this justcon 24 when did it happen uh 2023  of January this year one of the Navy was died   shoot a lot when they attack yes yes did  you tell about the attack to your family yes   how many children do you have three and your  wife what does he say or what that what does   she say about your job now uh she she told  me that they not like to go back to Nigeria   the salary is better but finally  I decide to come back here   the best weapon against the Pirates  is the Utah this entirely armored boat when running at full speed it can follow  their speed boats and break them in half Julia invites me on board day and  night the Utah patrols around the rig what caliber of weapon can the armor  on this boat withstand problems results means deaths the Pirates mostly attack  at night so this is the most critical time is foreign that night there is no attack   these security measures cost up to 15  percent of an oil platform's budget for this rig it's one million dollars per month   but in this country the oil industry  faces even more costly acts by predators   twenty percent of the oil that it extracts in  the Delta is stolen by thousands of traffickers   this piracy has a name bunkering this pipeline belongs to Shell it's where one  of thousands of pipelines that run through the   Delta surfaces traffickers connect to it to  pump off the oil it's then stored in these   boats which serve as makeshift tankers  what is inside this is a good oh yeah   this is this is fixed to the main well yes  from that that's very well you are seeing the oil is then pumped to be refined  into fuel Diesel and kerosene so here we are in a quite big illegal  refinery in the Delta there are a dozen   bunkerers traffickers working in this  Refinery which has six units like this   one each with a surface area around  the size of a football stadium foreign the vapors from the burning oil are unbearable  I have trouble breathing this man is going to   explain how he makes diesel from the crude oil  stolen from the Pipelines he sets a fire under   a ton of crude oil yo this is the way we are we  used to start it and this will keep on hitting   there the tank within two three four hours  it will result here and with smokes and cows   this process separates the petrol from the  other residues of the crude oil it evaporates   and travels through this tank of cold water  then through several meters of pipes to retake   its liquid form at the other end diesel flows in  total 300 000 barrels are hijacked like this each   day a parallel industry that is extremely  dangerous for these men with their feet in   petrol and clothing that is soaked with flammable  Vapors they are frequently victims of explosions a few weeks later one of these workers died the other disaster is ecological here's the effects this has on nature you get the  feeling that these trees have been burned but in   fact not at all it's the oil Vapors that kill  them and of course all this runs into the river   and there are refineries like this one  along several kilometers of the river night these illegal refineries are easy to  spot however the military turns a blind eye   the question we have to ask is how is  it possible that these groups can travel   to Sea up to 30 40 boats in an area which  has a high density of Nigerian Army units the answer is simple go corruption according to the NGO Transparency International  Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries   in the world it holds the 136th place out of  168 countries that the organization monitors in Berlin at the ngos headquarters  the director for Africa explains   that corruption affects all of society  right up to the highest levels of State universities when a country reaches this  level of systemic corruption unfortunately it is not surprising to  see that the Nigerian Army the Nigerian   military authorities can be corrupted by the  Pirates to let them work in complete freedom is corruption allows Pirates to unleash the  ties these Security Forces by injecting a   strong anesthetic the dollar foreign the price  of oil has been falling in this context the cost   of piracy has become unbearable for the oil  companies some have started to leave Nigeria in East Africa in Somalia pirates threaten  a Cornerstone of the world economy shipping   today eighty percent of  goods are transported by ship Somalia is located on a strategic  shipping route linking Europe to Asia   eighteen thousand ships  pass through here each year   in ten years Somalian pirates have attacked  more than 300 ships and kidnapped 700 sailors these Pirates approached  the vessel on fishing boats   armed with kalashnikovs they hijacked  the boats and take the sailors hostage after 25 years of Civil War Somali is no longer  one nation in the South Islamic al-shabbat militia   close to Al-Qaeda are gaining ground in the  north the territory is divided into feudal   strongholds controlled by tribal Chiefs the  region of galmuduk is a hot spot for piracy   many attacks leave from the village of hobio  on the coast going there is not without risk   as you first need to go through garcayo the  last two foreigners who came to galkayo before   me were a French man and a British man aged 35  to 40. they both worked for the United Nations   they had come to Somalia apparently to work on  piracy they got off the plane and had hardly   set foot on the ground when they were both  killed in a hail of kalashnikov's bullets after three years of negotiations with  local authorities I arrived in galkayo   it's impossible to come here without being invited  on the tarmac I am met by the Vice governor of   the region for my protection he has deployed a  militia of 38 men armed with kalashnikovs and   heavy artillery in this region a Westerner can  be kidnapped or killed in just a few minutes my Convoy heads towards the  Somalian Coast the road is   long and dangerous the journey  will take eight hours Circle right almost we are currently heading from galkayo to  hobio is one of the places where piracy is   most Rife in Somalia I'm going to try and  understand the roots of piracy locally and   see what happens and maybe meet some people  who are part of the problem so we have 250   kilometers of trails which are pretty chaotic  we should arrive in hobio in the early morning   love you to keep going the Menchu cat  the local equivalent of coca leaves in the early morning the phone rings the  vice Governor has received some bad news I'll do that nice um we've reached hobbyo  pretty quickly because the group I'm with   has received information that there's  a boat heading to hobbyo at the moment it may be a boat that has just been hijacked and  is being taken to the hobbyo coast what do you   suspect can't be anything it can be broken  both or it can be a high attack the boat   my Convoy speeds up to reach hobbyo as quickly  as possible foreign at the top of the village from here we can see what is happening on  the coast a cargo ship has stopped 300 meters   from the beach it's an Iranian boat it has been  attacked and brought to the shore in the night I see Jeeps with armed men  without a doubt the Pirates the same moment a fishing  boat heads towards the cargo   ten minutes later it comes back to  shore hostages are surely on board the vice Governor sent his men onto the beach thank you so the boat has been hijacked it's  confirmed it's an act of piracy I'm   going to the beach a few hundred meters  from the boat in a pickup belonging to   the government's militia the men are a bit on edge okay so we're going into the village  of hobio it looks pretty quiet there   are children in the streets but 200 meters  away there's an act of piracy happening now so we arrive on the beach  and the boats on the left   the governor's soldiers spread out on the beach but they don't attack the Pirates even though they are only  a few hundred meters away I recognize their pickup straight away they belong  to F win the legendary Somalian pirate skank it's   him who in 2008 captured the Cyrus star the  biggest oil tanker in the world as well as   the finer a Ukrainian cargo ship transporting  Russian tanks and tons of kalashnikovs in 2013   afwen officially announced he was retiring  I see that his men carried on the business   against all expectations the Pirates pickups leave  peacefully with the hostages without being stopped   by the governor's men instead the soldiers stopped  the local fishermen the Pirates foot soldiers they come to transport the hostages in their  boat the grapple hook an essential tool for   boarding a ship initially these fishermen  say they are victims of the Pirates foreign have they been violent in the hostages the vice Governor doesn't believe the fisherman's  version he orders his men to arrest him the fisherman isn't afraid of the soldiers  on the contrary he even threatens them the fisherman claims it is  his right to help the Pirates   to my great surprise the  governor's men leave him alone a few minutes later the fishermen go  back to work as if nothing had happened foreign the same afternoon the governor summons the  leader of the Pirates The Man Behind The   Taking of hostages to his house here he is it's  not a time for confrontation but for discussion   from the start the pirate claims his  Gang has the power on the hobio beach I am um the talks last four hours and it's  the Pirates who have the upper hand finally The Man Behind the kidnapping leaves  without being worried this scene explains   everything about Somalian piracy the authorities  have no power on the Pirates territories two weeks later the ship owner pays a ransom of  one and a half million dollars to get back the   cargo ship and the hostages for me it's time  to leave hobio as a Westerner I'm also prey   we leave the Fisherman's  Village Under close escort so here we are on the trail between hobio and  galkayo returning to galkayo a bit earlier   than planned we left hobbyo this morning  in a bit of a rush because I've been seen   by the pirates and their leader so it was  unwise as a foreigner especially French to   stay in Hobby in Somalia hostages  can remain imprisoned for years the next day at calcayo airport I'm witness  to a rare event the release of hostages they arrive in four by fours 11 sailors crew of a Malaysian cargo ship which  had been hijacked by Pirates a few years ago can you explain what happened to you please once a 10 hour shift Port whether  Somalian pirates in the Indian Ocean   their demands was 20 million after their  death do not increase money then we will   shorter the crew then honor no effort to increase  the money and they one Indian Nation they shooted   is just three bullet then they hit us and  the torturers cry your family and tell them   bring us money otherwise we will kill you and  how long was the detention in total for you   foreign thanks to God I am alive and  hopefully I will go in my country a plane from the U.N arrives on the tarmac to envoys from the organization  have come to take the hostages home   usually it is the shipping  company or insurers who pay   the ransom but as they didn't want to  the United Nations took care of it yes did you feel today how did they torture you what did they  do to you at the time I have the heat today they hang me by Lake and  they pressure me for many times in total five hostages died during their detention the day isn't over exceptionally I witness  another hostage release a few hours later three Kenyans two men and a woman kidnapped  in the bush while working for an NGO   barely six hours ago this man was tied to a  tree where he has spent the last two years we were kids under three that is our  shelter its wilderness plain land   which is Sandy so and there's too much air when  there's too much wind the sun blow at night   you you have to expect snakes and  scorpions and spiders giant spiders and and and the people don't care the people don't care they weren't being held  on the moon they were held in the vicinity of   the village in the desert not in the houses but  there were people around the people there don't   care about the hostages why because they  know that it's a business they know that   those hostages are going to bring money in  and the villages will be able to live from   that piracy is the economy in these regions  we have to understand that but equally this   piracy quite simply is threatening a  pillar of the world economy because   these people are based on this strategic  axis of communication in the Indian Ocean at piracy's height in January 2011 the Somalians  held 32 Merchant boats and 736 hostages for the ship owners the financial  consequences of these kidnappings   are disastrous in Paris I meet with the director  of the organization representing French shipping um episodes faced with the scale of these attacks  the European Union has reacted by   creating in 2008 the ateland force  the first European Navy Force foreign warships planes and helicopters Patrol an area  that is one and a half times the size of Europe   as well as the European forces the  area is patrolled by ships from NATO   but also a fleet of Warships from Russia  India China and Colombia amongst others   in eight years attacks by Pirates have  been practically blocked the operation   is a success but it has a price 300 million  dollars per year for the European taxpayer a   necessary expenditure for as long as the  problem cannot be resolved at source is thank you foreign so when we talk about piracy we can think  that at its Origins there are the economic   motivation of the Pirates to earn money  and this economic motivation can only   be satisfied when certain political conditions  come together corruption weakness of the state   in a world where Lawless areas are  increasing and the power of states   is decreasing piracy has a future  already there are attacks in South   America and especially in Asia where 161  acts of piracy were committed in 2015.   so it's there I'll need to go to follow the  dangerous evolution of this criminal business foreign

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Length: 52min 49sec (3169 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 06 2022