Convicted Nigerian Pirate In Fresh Trouble, Charged Again for an Earlier Hijacking

A Nigerian pirate previously convicted of hijacking a Dutch freighter is now facing new charges tied to an earlier piracy incident in 2017.

Itoruboemi Benson Lobia, the leader of a pirate action group, was first arrested in late 2018 at Johannesburg Airport by South African authorities, acting on an Interpol warrant from the Netherlands. After a South African court approved his extradition, Lobia was tried and convicted by a Dutch court in 2022 for leading the hijacking of the Dutch-flagged freighter FWN Rapide off Port Harcourt in 2018. During the incident, Lobia’s gang held the ship’s 11 crew members hostage for a month while negotiating a ransom. ForestWave, the operator, reportedly paid $340,000 for their release, significantly less than the $2 million originally demanded by Lobia. He was sentenced to 8.5 years in a Dutch prison for his role.

Last week, while serving his sentence, Lobia was formally “re-arrested” in connection with another case, a hijacking of the German merchant ship BBC Caribbean in 2017. On February 5 of that year, pirates boarded the vessel off the Nigerian coast, kidnapping eight crew members and transporting them to a hidden location in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. Several other crew members managed to hide on board and later sailed the ship safely to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, 2,500 nautical miles away.

Following the BBC Caribbean’s arrival in Las Palmas, forensic teams gathered extensive evidence on board, including fingerprints and DNA traces. One DNA sample later matched Lobia’s, prompting Dutch authorities to pursue additional charges against him. After securing permission from South African authorities, Dutch prosecutors were granted a custody order last Thursday to proceed with this new case.

If convicted of this earlier hijacking, Lobia could face an extended sentence for his role in a second high-profile maritime piracy operation.