Safety coordination centre responds to threats

A multinational maritime
coordination centre has been
opened in Cotonou, Benin, by
the Economic Community of
West African States (Ecowas)
to respond to security threats
and other maritime issues
along the territorial waters of
Togo, Niger, Benin and Nigeria
on the Gulf of Guinea.
While piracy in Somalia’s
Gulf of Aden on the African
east coast is currently on the
decline, it has spread to West
Africa.
Although most attacks
in the region take place in
Nigeria’s Niger Delta region,
there have also been attacks in
Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana,
Guinea and Togo, among
others, according to the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC).
Speaking at the opening of
the centre, Benin president
Boni Yayi said: “Only through
collaborative initiatives such
as the operational zoning of
our maritime borders can
much be achieved in the area
of maritime security.”
Revenues to the government
of Benin are reported to have
been directly affected by the
rise in piracy in the region.
Taxes on trade account for
half of government revenue,
and 80% of these are derived
from the port of Cotonou,
according to UNODC figures
published in March 2013.
In 2014 a rise in West
African piracy resulted in the
London-based Lloyd’s Market
Association listing Nigeria,
neighbouring Benin and
nearby waters in the same risk
category as Somalia.