From All Africa

West African heads of state will meet, maybe as soon as this month, to adopt a code to fight growing piracy in their coastal waters that would include use of arrests, prosecutions and seizures of ships, the U.N. shipping agency said.

Piracy is on the increase in the Gulf of Guinea region, which includes Africa’s No. 1 oil producer Nigeria and is a significant source of commodities including cocoa for world markets.

In that region, commercial ships do not enjoy the protection of naval security that has dramatically reduced Somali piracy on the other side of Africa.

Read more at allafrica.com