Chief of Naval Staff announces Nigeria’s exit from piracy list

Nigeria’s improvements in reducing piracy attacks on its Gulf of Guinea waters by 77% has been seen in the removal of Nigeria from the piracy list by the International Maritime Bureau.

This was disclosed by Vice Admiral AZ Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff in a statement posted by the Federal Government.

This also comes after the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, echoed similar claims on Nigeria’s removal from the piracy list.

While highlighting the significance of Nigeria exiting the piracy list said, “It is heartwarming to note the significant decline in piracy attacks by 77% on Nigerian waters as reflected in the International Maritime Bureau Q3 2021 report… the latest IMB report shows that Nigeria has exited the IMB Piracy List.”

Gambo added that the Navy will continue to leverage on all factors of national location, technology, training, teamwork and synergy to re-energise the Nigerian Navy and enhance her as a well-motivated and ready naval force in the discharge of her constitutional mandate and other assigned tasks in fulfillment of national security.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Jamoh, the NIMASA boss hinted that Nigeria has been removed from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy record list.

“The further zeal to keep our maritime space secured, promote socio-economic development and leaving no stone unturned, led to the launch of the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure.

“We have also leaned heavily on the limitless resources of information technology to integrate our security operations to provide stability to a singular non-oil sector that sustains the Nigerian economy,” Jamoh stated.

The International Maritime Bureau in its annual piracy report for 2021 stated that the overall reduction in reported incidents in 2021 is attributed to a decline of activity reported within the Gulf of Guinea region which has seen a decrease from 81 reported incidents in 2020 to 34 in 2021.]

In October 2021, the International Maritime Bureau (IBM) reported that global piracy cases dropped to the lowest level since 1994. Gulf of Guinea region recorded 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021, in comparison to 46 for the same period in 2020, with the Nigerian area recording only 4 related cases for the same period.

They urged the coastal states of the Gulf of Guinea to increase their collaboration and physical presence in their waters to ensure a long term and sustainable solution to address the crime of piracy and armed robbery in the region