Nigeria Loses $2.7bn Yearly To Illegal Fishing, Piracy
Nigeria and 15 other countries in the Gulf of Guinea lose $2bn to pirate attacks annually.
The nation is also said to be losing $70m annually to illegal fishing in its territorial waters.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, who disclosed this said that the Navy’s efforts were continuously being fine-tuned to counter emerging challenges through maintenance of credible presence within the nation’s maritime domain.
Ibas was represented by the Flag Officer, Western Command, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji, at the Annual General Meeting of the Maritime Security Providers Association of Nigeria.
He said that apart from the traditional crime of robbery and piracy that had bedeviled the maritime domain for decades, there were emerging security threats such as sabotage of oil and gas infrastructure and marine resource theft.
He added that there were other transnational organised crimes that were being tackled by the Nigerian Navy.
According to Ibas, security threats kept evolving from traditional to conventional warfare.
He said, “The maritime domain has been under threat by piracy, sea robbery, illicit trafficking, illegal unreported and unregulated fishing and marine pollution.
“Now emerging security threats within the Nigerian maritime domain stem largely from non-military causes such as socio-economic agitations and a large army of unemployed and under-employed youths in the coastal communities, whose activities manifest through attacks on shipping.
“It is estimated that the annual cost of piracy to the Gulf of Guinea region is over $2bn, especially in the maritime domain of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.
“More disturbing is the fact that many of the illicit acts at sea are directed at the economic lifeline of the nation, with negative impact on development and well-being of our citizens.”
The Naval chief noted that the maritime space had tremendous economic potential due to its rich hydrocarbon deposit, fishery, resources, and several port facilities.
