ECONOMIC AND HUMAN COST OF PIRACY ACTIVITY IN NIGERIA.

BY BASHIR YUSUF JAMOH

Although Nigeria’s maritime asset serves as an avenue for revenue generation, insecurity that is associated with Nigeria’s waterways and maritime sector, serves as a source of revenue leakage to the Nigerian economy. A study by Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) in 2016 examined the cost of piracy in three regions: (1) the Horn of Africa; (2) Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea; and (3) the Malacca Straits. Using the cost of Somali piracy as a case study, the study analysed both the direct and indirect costs of piracy activities in these regions. The report revealed that, despite several efforts to address piracy and armed robbery at sea in West Africa, the incident increased from 2015 to 2016. Regrettably, almost two-thirds of all incidents recorded in 2016 were reported off Nigeria in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and territorial waters, and violent attacks in particular were concentrated almost exclusively in that area (see Figure 1)