The Nigerian Navy has attributed the decline in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea to the “effectiveness” of its “maritime security engagements”.
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, disclosed this when he gave a scorecard of the Nigerian Navy operational successes in 2021.
Quoting the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Global Piracy Report of 14 July 2021, Gambo said there has been a marked decline in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea with fewer pirate incidents recorded in 2021 compared to the incidents recorded in 2020.
He also said that in 2021, the Nigerian Navy arrested 44 vessels involved in illegal bunkering in the country, which led to the recovery of N55.1 billion worth of crude oil as well as Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) worth N11.8 billion.
He put the volume of crude oil recovered at about 1.7 barrels of crude and 45,753 metric tons of AGO.
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