Nigeria’s Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba, has lauded the contributions of Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre (MLAILPKC) in building capacity to defeat piracy in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).Speaking at the inauguration of the Anti-piracy Course 4/23 organised by MLAILPKC, on Monday in Abuja, the Minister said that the centre had been recognised for providing a world class e-learning platform, focused mainly on courses related to peace support, humanitarian relief, and security operations.

Agba said that the MLAILPKC had remained a reliable training centre for leadership and peacekeeping operation in Nigeria considering the prevalence of insecurity, humanitarian crisis and displaced communities.

The minister commended the support of international organisations for their commitment to sustaining the centre.

The Director-General, Nigerian Army Resource Center (NARC), retired Maj.-Gen. Garba Wahab, urged the participants of the course to open their minds to acquiring the requisite knowledge needed to deal with piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

Wahab said that maritime environment had been one of the mainstay of the Nigerian economy and that no nation could develop without security.

According to him, if the maritime environment is not secured economically, Nigeria will be in crisis and so, we must find a way of ensuring that the Gulf of Guinea is secured.

“Whether we like it or not for so many reasons, we must ensure that the sea is secured and everybody must come around to assist those who are responsible, particularly Nigerian Navy,“ he said.

“It is the responsibility of every Nigerian. Nobody will come from outside, they can assist us in funding but the onus of performance is on Nigeria and other member states to ensure that the Gulf of Guinea is secured,” local media reports quoted Wahab as saying.

The UNDP Team Lead, Governance, Peace and Security, Mr Matthew Alao, in his remarks said that the activities of pirates in the Gulf of Guinea had persistently been in the downward trends in the past three years.

The course was organised by the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre (MLAILPKC) with support from the Government of Japan.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) of the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) 2022 annual report stated that 115 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships and seafarers were recorded globally in 2022 compared to 132 recorded in 2021.

The report said that the Gulf of Guinea continued to experience desirable reduction in maritime crimes in 2022 as the region accounted for 19 incidents as against 35 incidents recorded in 2021.