Management of Marine Pollution Incidents in Nigerian Coastal Waters: Operational Lessons from Recent Spill Events

Marine pollution incidents in Nigerian coastal waters continue to impose significant environmental, economic, and reputational costs on the nation's maritime sector. This study critically examines the management of selected marine pollution incidents along the Nigerian coast between 2019 and 2024, drawing operational lessons relevant to improving industry response capability. Adopting a professional case study methodology, the research analyses three documented spill incidents involving vessel-source pollution in the South South and South West coastal zones. Data were obtained from incident investigation reports filed with the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, interviews with eight incident response coordinators, and review of post-incident corrective action records. The study evaluates incident notification timelines, initial response actions, resource mobilisation, containment effectiveness, and documentation quality against the standards of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan and the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation. Findings indicate that response initiation times consistently exceeded recommended benchmarks, primarily due to delayed incident reporting by vessel operators. Containment effectiveness was compromised by the unavailability of functional oil booms at the nearest designated response bases. Post-incident documentation was found to be inadequate for evidentiary purposes in several cases. The study recommends pre-positioned response equipment at strategic coastal locations, penalties for delayed incident reporting, and mandatory post-incident review workshops. These findings are directly applicable to pollution response professionals and maritime regulatory personnel. Keywords: marine pollution, incident management, oil spill response, NOSDRA, coastal Nigeria