The Nigerian Territorial Waters Legislation and the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention

Nigeria is a coastal state located strategically on the West Coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. After gaining independence in 1960 it enacted legislation in 1967 on its territorial waters, which has been amended twice, in 1971 and 1998. After participating in the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) it became a party to the 1982 Convention on 14 August 1986. This article examines the laws governing the Nigerian territorial waters vis-à-vis the LOSC provisions on the territorial sea with a view to pinpointing how far these laws are in compliance with the relevant provisions of the LOSC