A report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has shown that that Nigeria and other countries in the Gulf of Guinea lost $777.1m annually in recent years to piracy and other maritime crimes.
UNODC Outreach and Communications Officer in Nigeria, Sylvester Atere said that the amount lost was in addition to human costs, with the Gulf of Guinea experiencing an escalation of piracy, kidnapping and armed robbery at sea incidents in recent years.
The report found that between 2015 and 2017 the countries in the region lost a total of $2.3bn to maritime crimes, with attacks in the region more than doubling year on year in 2018. The region accounted for all six hijacks worldwide, 13 of the 18 ships fired upon, 130 of the 141 hostages taken globally and 78 of 83 seafarers kidnapped for ransom.