President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria loses at least $26.3bn to crude oil thieves, pirates, kidnappers, smugglers and other criminals annually.
He said this at the Navy Headquarters in Abuja yesterday while commissioning the FALCON EYE system – a state-of-the-art surveillance facility that incorporates various sensors located along the nation’s enormous coastline.
Buhari, represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, wondered why criminal acts could still be on the rise despite that he had signed the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Bill on June 24, 2019. He said: “In recent years, some key identified threats within Nigeria’s maritime environment have taken on increasingly more harmful dimensions to our economy and even the safety of citizens and commercial entities who use the maritime domain.”