United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has expressed concerns over the spate of increased piracy and maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea, as the steady reduction in the menace experienced between 2021 and 2022 has been overlapped by recent developments.
A reported upward push of about 50 per cent in piracy and maritime crimes has been recorded from the first nine months of 2023 vis-à-vis the corresponding period in 2022.
Sixty-five incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were recorded in the first half of 2023, representing an increase from 58 incidents for the same period in 2022. Of the 65 incidents reported, 57 vessels were boarded, four had attempted attacks, two were hijacked and two were fired upon.
The UNDP said anti-piracy and other maritime crimes have been a source of concern to, not only Nigeria, but also international business actors, who move their goods and services to other countries like Nigeria through the sea.
According to UNDP Team Lead, Governance, Peace & Security, Matthew Alao, “there is an upsurge in this crime and criminality in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), especially to the lives of the crew at sea, because within a period of nine months of this year, about 70 crew members were victims of piracy and maritime crimes. 54 were taken hostages, 14 were kidnapped and two were injured.
Alao disclosed this during an Anti-Piracy and Prevention of Maritime Crimes Course organised by the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre (MLAILPKC) at the Nigerian Army School of Finance in Lagos.
“This astronomical increase in the piracy and maritime crimes reported by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) of the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) in GoG is a wakeup call to all maritime actors to step up efforts at combating piracy and all forms of crimes and criminality in GoG coastal areas,” Alao said.
He said the urgent need to tackle the upsurge prompted intervention in the training of core stakeholders from countries around the GoG by the MLAILPKC through the initiative of the project, funded by the Government of Japan since 2021 to address maritime security and the broader crimes that happen at sea.
