By ADAKU WALTER
Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, has ascribed the decline of piracy on Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea to collaboration among various organs of Government in Nigeria, governments in the region and stakeholders from within and outside the country.
Jamoh, who stated this while receiving the Management of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Channel 10 in Lagos, noted that the success of the fight against piracy in Nigeria is a combination of factors, which have seen the entire gamut of security architecture working together to achieve a common goal.
He stated that Nigeria had exited the piracy list with steady progress, adding: “No single organisation can lay total claim for the success.
The Presidency is playing a major role by providing direction, the Armed forces are playing their role and NIMASA is playing its role through effective maritime administration with the Deep Blue Project in focus.
“The National Assembly, which gave us the SPOMO Act and the Judiciary, which have ensured that maritime crimes are punished in Nigeria should also get credit.”
He also acknowledged the support of international maritime stakeholders as key to the success in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
According to him, the international conglomerates, including the major oil marketers, international tanker owners (INTERTANKO) and International Cargo Owners (INTERCARGO), among others, are part of the joint industry-working group and which have metamorphosed into the SHADE Gulf of Guinea, also deserve some credit.
Jamoh further disclosed that two of NIMASA’s Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) located at the Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (RMRCC) in Kirikiri Lagos and Takwa Bay are now fully operational.
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“We have enhanced the safety of navigation of vessels on our waters, every vessel in the Nigerian territorial waters and even beyond can easily access our GMDSS. The ones in Takwa Bay and Kirikiri are now fully functional, while the other three stations located in Oron, Bonny and Escravos are almost ready to commence full operations, The Trumpet gathered.
“These are some gaps identified in the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency by the IMO during its last IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) and we are closing the gaps,” he said.
Commenting on the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Related Offences (SPOMO) Act, which now serves as a model for other countries in the region, Jamoh stressed the need for harmonisation of laws to ensure uniformity of purpose in prosecuting maritime offences within the region.
“Other countries in the region are now in the process of enacting laws similar to our SPOMO Act. This is the time for us to ensure harmonised Maritime Laws in the Gulf of Guinea to ensure that criminalities in the maritime sector are prosecuted easily within the region, thus no safe haven for criminals in the region.”
He noted that NIMASA decided to engage the Naval Dockyard to repair the agency’s patrol boats, as part of efforts to deepen inter-agency collaboration with the Nigerian Navy.
General Manager, NTA Channel 10, who led the delegation to NIMASA, Olusegun Osinowo, commended the Jamoh-led administration in its quest to realise a robust maritime sector while pledging continuous support of the media in educating members of the public on the agency’s activities.
