- A Nigerian court has jailed 10 pirates for 12 years each over the hijacking of a merchant vessel last year.
- This is the second such trial under a new anti-piracy law.
A Nigerian court convicted 10 men of piracy under a new law designed to thwart maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea, reports Bloomberg Quint.
Merchant ship hijacked
The pirates, all of them Nigerian, were convicted of hijacking the Chinese merchant ship FV Hailufeng II in the Gulf of Guinea in 2020.
Kidnap attacks against ships for ransom have become common in the Gulf of Guinea, which runs from Senegal to Angola, taking in the southwest coast of Nigeria.
The perpetrators are usually Nigerian pirates.
Judge Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos said the sentences were intended as a deterrent to others. As well as the jail terms, he fined each of the men 250,000 naira ($610).
Major victory for Nigeria’s new anti-piracy law
The ruling was “a major victory for Nigeria’s new anti-piracy law,” said Suleman Dahun, a spokesman for the Nigerian navy which was acting as prosecutor.
The navy rescued 18 crew members on board the Chinese vessel from pirates on May 15, 2020, also arresting their 10 captors.
Last year, Nigeria carried out its first ever trial under a new piracy law adopted in 2019, under which pirates are dubbed economic saboteurs working against the country.
Maritime kidnappings in Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea accounted for more than 95 percent of all maritime kidnappings last year — 130 out of 135 cases, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which monitors security at sea.
There have been 16 acts of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea this year alone, according to the Dryad Global maritime security consultancy.
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: Bloomberg Quint
