Fundamental gaps such as links to organised crime and dealing with the proceeds of piracy must be closed.
Nigeria’s June 2019 law on piracy and other maritime offences is an important step in securing the country’s coastline and seas. But the legislation fails to account for the links between piracy and other crimes, especially at the transnational level.
According to the ICC International Maritime Bureau, actual and attempted piracy and armed robberies against ships on Africa’s West Coast rose from 47 in 2011 to 64 in 2019. In 2019 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that between 2015 and 2017, the total economic cost of piracy, kidnapping and armed robbery at sea incurred by all stakeholders involved in countering these activities, including Nigeria, was US$2.3 billion.
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Source: issafrica.org
Maritime Security News 