Aware of the activities of pirates and sea robbers prowling on Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea, then Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside has strengthened the bond of working agreements between the Agency and Nigerian military chiefs to apply the same treatment meted to north east insurgents to similar criminal minded elements obstructing movement of ship/crew within Nigerian waters.

With assurances from the Navy, Army and Air Force, Dakuku told us that the days of pirates harassing ships plying the gulf of guinea to Nigeria are numbered. In his words

“we will not tolerate any acts of piracy nor criminality in any way. The negative effect of such actions on our economy is too high. We have started deploying resources, men and platforms to secures our waters and ensure safety of ships and crew. We are saying a resounding NO to piracy”.

Asked to comment on reports that the Gulf of Guinea/Nigeria waters seem the hot bed of pirate activities compared to other parts of the world, the NIMASA boss reiterated that nothing will be spared to make the waters safe and secured.

Reports by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), indicate that piracy worldwide is on the decline owing to concerted efforts by countries to wipe out the menace.

IMB say the si

captured Pirates by Nigerian Navy

tuation in Somalia is fragile while the threat of Somali piracy has not been eliminated. In Asia, “Actions taken by the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities against pirate gangs in 2015 appear to have had the necessary deterrent effect,” resulting in low piracy acts within that region and other parts of the world. The Gulf of Guinea while posing some challenges/issues, IMB expressed optimism on actions taken by maritime regulatory agencies in the West African region to eliminate operations by pirates in the region.