The Gulf of Guinea will see attacks rise with the vote scheduled for February, according to Risk Intelligence’s Hans Tino Hansen.
The security advisor told Reuters two motherships are currently located just south of Nigeria and five seafarers are known to be held hostage onshore.
"Ahead of general elections, kidnap-for-ransom and attacks on offshore targets increase," Hansen added.
"The 'principal' (protection money) system in Nigeria secures funding to political candidates, and because of that, we see an increase in offshore attacks."
General elections are also expected to take place in Togo, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast, all close to the Gulf of Guinea, but these do not constitute the same risk, experts said.
"The crisis in the Gulf of Guinea is all about Nigeria," Alex Vines from Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International affairs, said.
