Piracy and Economic Growth of Countries in the Gulf of Guinea

Sea piracy has been described as a global malady. Its occurrence today has become a threat not only on the sea but to mankind and the society as a whole. It has become a global threat that undermines the socioeconomic development of nations globally, thus warranting an empirical investigation to ascertain the extent to which piracy has affected economic growth of countries in the gulf of guinea using secondary time series data of piratical attacks, GDPs and GDP growth rates of countries in the gulf of guinea that were obtained from World Data atlas spanning from 1999-2018 and IMB Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships Annual Reports, 2003-2018. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics like tables and map. Findings from the study revealed that hostage taking, oil theft and armed robbery at sea have adversely affected the economic growth of countries in the Gulf of Guinea. The study recommends that countries in the Gulf of Guinea should enact enforceable maritime laws that will prosecute sea pirates and deter them from pulling down the economy of the countries in the region.