Nigeria has called on the United Nations Security Council to support a regional maritime surveillance system to combat piracy, oil theft and other crimes.

It also demanded predictable financing for joint maritime security operations across the Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry’s permanent secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, presented the proposals during Thursday’s Security Council debate on emerging technologies and maritime security.

Mr Ahmed warned that criminal networks were increasingly exploiting modern technologies to evade detection and threaten maritime activities. He identified piracy, kidnapping for ransom, crude oil theft and illegal fishing among major security challenges confronting the Gulf of Guinea.

According to him, criminal organisations were exploiting satellite communications and falsified vessel identification signals to conceal their activities. However, Ahmed said technological innovations were also providing governments with improved capabilities to combat maritime crimes.

He highlighted Nigeria’s Deep Blue Project, which integrates unmanned aerial vehicles, maritime surveillance systems and an advanced command centre. The permanent secretary said the initiative had strengthened Nigeria’s capacity to monitor maritime activities and respond to security threats.

He also identified Nigeria’s Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act of 2019 as an important legal instrument for prosecuting maritime criminals.

Mr Ahmed, however, warned that several coastal countries lacked the technology, reliable intelligence, and trained personnel needed for effective maritime surveillance. He consequently proposed establishing a shared regional maritime information system linking national surveillance capabilities.

Nigeria urged the Security Council to encourage international partners, the International Maritime Organisation and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to support the initiative. The proposed arrangement would operate through the Yaoundé maritime security architecture, facilitating intelligence-sharing and coordinated responses among participating countries.

Mr Ahmed also demanded equitable access to surveillance technologies for developing coastal countries.
Turning to regional security financing, he recalled the African Union Peace and Security Council’s April 2025 endorsement of a Combined Maritime Task Force for the Gulf of Guinea. He disclosed that Nigeria had been recommended to host the task force’s headquarters.

The permanent secretary urged the Security Council to consider applying Resolution 2719, where appropriate, to support African-led maritime security operations. He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to cooperation with ECOWAS, ECCAS, the African Union and international partners to strengthen maritime security.

(NAN)