Main points

• Corruption is pervasive in the Nigerian maritime security sector and facilitates the very crimes that the Navy should be countering, such as smuggling, piracy, and oil theft.
• Due to the fragile situation in the Gulf of Guinea, there is considerable international support for the Nigerian security sector in the form of equipment and capacity building, including through the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). Two key AFRICOM programmes involved in Nigerian maritime security are the Africa Partnership Station (APS) and Africa Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership (AMLEP).
• While AFRICOM safeguards procurement processes and other aspects of its programme finances, it does not otherwise address corruption in the Nigerian maritime security sector. By building capacity while ignoring corruption, foreign partners risk professionalising corrupt actors and thereby aggravating corruption in the sector.
• AFRICOM and others supporting the sector should revisit their approach and address corruption more openly with their Nigerian partners.