The spate of piracy and maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) continues to stir grave concerns. The upward push of about 50 percent
The spate of piracy and maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea continues to stir grave concerns. The upward push of about 50 per cent in piracy and maritime crimes recorded for the first nine months of 2023 signposts increasing danger withinThe maritime sector has continued to play great economic and developmental roles in the Gulf of Guinea and the world at large.
Alao made this disclosure during an Anti-Piracy and Prevention of Maritime Crimes Course organised by the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre at the Nigerian Army School of Finance in Lagos. MLAILPKC, with technical collaboration from the Nigerian Navy, has trained 117 beneficiaries in four past courses organised between 2021 and 2023 project cycle.
“We also have support from the Nigerian Navy, who will be helping us with some of those practical demonstrations in Lagos here,” the commandant said. He added that it would equally consolidate the gains of the past four anti-piracy courses conducted by MLAILPKC in collaboration with partners from the GoG countries.
The Guardian gathered that the intervention of the UNDP, MLAILPKC and the Government of Japan was apt, especially as the Commercial Crime Services of the International Chamber of Commerce reported that perpetrators of crime in the GoG in recent time successfully boarded 90 per cent of targeted vessels. It was further gathered that violence towards crew continued with 36 taken hostage, 14 kidnapped, three threatened, two injured and one assaulted.
The UNODC, in response to the threats, developed an integrated training package aimed at equipping maritime law enforcement agencies and criminal justice actors with the skills and knowledge needed to combat maritime crime and ensure a legal finish. The course was delivered under UNODC’s Integrated Training Package developed by its Global Maritime Crime Programme, which serves as a comprehensive initiative that combines a maritime interdiction course and a mock crime scene exercise with evidence handling training, evidence package preparation and prosecution mentoring, culminating in a simulated trial; all with the purpose of strengthening the capabilities of all criminal justice actors involved to ensure legal finish of maritime crimes.
The advisory noted that in the past, several abduction cases had occurred on various vessels in Cameroun’s anchorage areas, including an attack in 2017 near Bonny Island, Nigeria. To counter these threats, both the Cameroun Navy and the country’s Rapid Intervention Battalion had to provide security for fishing vessels operating within Cameroun’s waters.
For instance, rampant illegal fishing off Somalia’s coast, coupled with lawlessness, resulted in local fishers taking up arms to attack foreign fishing vessels in Somali waters. These vigilante groups were one of the precursors to piracy in the region. This serves as a warning to West Africa, where continuous coastal instability could worsen the piracy situation.Before flagging, please keep in mind that Disqus does not moderate communities.
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