A court in Togo sentenced nine individuals to prison for acts of piracy in a landmark trial for a Gulf of Guinea state. The group of pirates, which includes seven Nigerians, a Ghanaian and a Togolese, boarded a small tanker at anchor near Lomé and robbed the crew before being apprehended by the Togo Navy in May 2019. The group members were charged with piracy, assault, robbery and belonging to a criminal organization and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12-20 years, with each ordered to pay fines of USD $45,000-90,000.