Business
NIMASA, Police Partner On Waterways Security
The Nigerians Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) says, it is set to forge a strategic alliance with the Nigerian Police to curb the escalation of armed bandit and other criminal attacks against visiting ship within the nation’s port access channel and inland waters.
Director General of the agency, Mr. Temisan Omatseye, who was on a courtesy visit to the newly appointed inspector general of Police Mr. Hafiz Ringim, at the force headquarters in Abuja, expressed the willingness to work closely with the Nigerian Police to check criminal activities in the waterways in particular within the port area as well as in the creck of the Niger Delta.
Mr. Omatseye told the police chief that in line with the agency’s mandate to make the country’s waterways safe and secure for maritime commerce, we have had engagement with organisations like the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Airforce to Safeguard the nation’s maritime assets and arrest the piracy scourge in our waters.
A statement by the Deputy Director of NIMASA, Mrs. Ego Nwakocha quoted Mr. Omatseye as saying that the Agency is seeking a Similar collaboration with the Nigerian Police on Security of Ships at anchorage in the Ports and in the crecks. He disclosed that the agency has been receiving reports on largo ships being attacked by the armed bandits at Apapa Port, a development, he further said was of great concern to the Agency due to the negative impact of the incidents on the cost of shipping service, just as it puts the country in bad light.
The NIMASA also disclosed that the menace has attracted the attention of president Goodluck Jonathan, saying that the agency is determined to flush out the criminals from the Nigerian waterways.
It would be recalled that the federal government early this year handed over 59 specialised security combat patrol boats to the Nigerians police to boost their patrol of the nation’s inland waterways. The flects which is to be managed by the police marine unit, consist of four unit of 20-meter specialised landing craft, fully armed with heavy and light machine guns and hand held grenades, 15 units of 16 meter patrol personnel launches with ballistic protected wheel houses, and 40-units of 12-meter patrol personnel launchers with full complement of security combat equipment.
Omatseye was also quoted to have told the inspector general of police that NIMASA’s proposal which enjoys that backing of the federal ministry of transport would assist the Nigerian Police to sustain regular patrol of the nation’s port access, channels and creeks, saying that the agency is prepared to support the Nigerians police in the area of logistics, manpower, development, intelligence and the requisite hardware to effectively police the inland waters and creeks.
According to NIMASA’S image maker, the D.G further suggested that the two agencies consider the adoption of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would guide the relationship between them.
Nwokocha said the police chief to his guest that the Nigeria police is interested in the proposal as he believes it would add value to current efforts by the police to improve security in the country whether on land or sea.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
