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This study examined the development of international and municipal laws on maritime safety and security and identified the challenges undermining the efficiency of the provisions at combating security threats within the Nigerian maritime space. The study relied on primary and secondary sources of information. The primary sources included the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation 1988, the Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS) Convention 1974, municipal legislations and Judicial decisions. While the secondary sources included books, journal articles, conference proceedings and the internet. It was found that there is an array of international laws addressing maritime safety and security. It was further found that the effectiveness of these international maritime laws in Nigeria is undermined by inadequate implementation traceable to socio-legal, institutional and political issues in the country. The study recommends adoption of functional legal, institutional and policy measures to address the various implementation challenges, address maritime safety and security threats in the Nigerian maritime domain and aid the maximization of the nation's maritime resources to facilitate development.

Pervasive corruption is a global phenomenon which remains a major obstacle to development in various climes. The United Nations agenda 2030 recognizes the need to solve the problem of corruption as key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In response to this problem, the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) was adopted in 2005 as an international instrument targeted at facilitating Mutual Legal Assistance in combating corruption, by aiding recovery of looted funds, seizure, confiscation and repatriation of stolen assets abroad. Nigeria has a history of leadership deficit and institutional failure accounting for numerous cases of corruption and siphoning of funds by the political class. To aid recovery of looted funds, Nigeria signed and ratified UNCAC, and signed into law the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act in 2019. Against this backdrop, this study will analyse the provisions of UNCAC in comparison to the provisions of the Nigerian MLA Act. The aims are to ascertain limitations in the UNCAC provisions which might prevent realization of its set objectives, determine the extent to which the Nigerian MLA Act incorporates the underlining principles of UNCAC and to identify the effectiveness of both laws in addressing the various challenges of recovering stolen assets and funds prior to their advent. The study was based on comparative case study and inductive method. It was found that UNCAC has several limitations which the Nigerian MLA Act failed to remedy. It was also found that the Nigerian MLA Act has a relatively narrow scope. It limits the scope of MLA crime generally without paying par-

The maritime industry is globally recognized as one of the most economically viable industry capable of facilitating sustainable development thus, amicable settlement of maritime disputes is paramount to guarantee unhindered trade and commerce environment. Arbitration is an age-long Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism applied in the amicable settlement of disputes in a relaxed and semi-formal environment. It is particularly suitable for resolving commercial disputes because of the enforceability of arbitral awards as depicted by the existing international arbitral jurisprudence. Various law of the Sea tribunals such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) or an ad hoc panels expressly recognizes arbitration as one of the models for settlement of disputes as a suitable alternative to litigation. In Africa, as nations recover from the era of ocean blindness, maritime practice and administration is prioritized to aid economic growth. The objective of this study is to evaluate application of arbitration as an ADR mechanism for settling maritime disputes in Nigeria's maritime practices with the aim of identifying the challenges confronting Nigerian's involvement in maritime business, particularly as it relates to application of Arbitration to dispute settlement. It was found that there are certain loopholes in relevant laws which work hardship against local businesses in cases of maritime disputes settlement. The study suggests viable solutions based on lessons from other climes to create level playing field for parties who opt for arbitration to settle maritime related disputes.