By Joy Okoli
The United Nations’ specialised agency for the regulation of global shipping; the International Maritime Organisation IMO, has lauded the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Navy, and has also pledged its total support to the Federal Government of Nigeria over its renewed efforts in compelling piracy and other maritime crimes.
The agency believes that by these efforts, the country is sending a “strong and valuable message” to the global community and therefore commends the NIMASA, and the Nigerian Navy, who have been at the forefront of the anti-piracy war.
Secretary General of the IMO, Kitack Lim, who conveyed the excitement of the UN, also commended the new Director-General of Dr. Bashir Jamoh, for his brave and dynamic approach towards maritime security.
In a letter addressed to the new DG, the IMO scribe expressed pleasure, especially over the recent arrests and prosecution of suspected pirates for the first time in the country’s maritime history under the new antipiracy law, Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) 2019.
The SPOMO Act was signed into law in June last year by President Muhammadu Buhari. The law makes Nigeria the first country in West and Central Africa to have a distinct antipiracy legislation.
Lim said he was impressed by Nigeria’s efforts “to address maritime security threats in the region,” adding that Jamoh’s “leadership and proactive response” to maritime security issues were laudable.
The NIMASA DG had told the IMO Secretary General at a previous virtual meeting following the arrest of some pirates by the Nigerian Navy, in partnership with the agency, that piracy in the region was being sustained by powerful foreign collaboration. He appealed for support from the international community to complement the steps being taken by Nigeria towards ridding the country’s waters of maritime crimes.
Lim said: “I would also like to reiterate my congratulations to the Nigerian Navy on the successful capture and arrest of pirates from the fishing trawler Hailufeng II, and more recently on the rescue of the crewmembers of the containership Tommi Ritscher.
“Those actions, together with all the other initiatives you highlighted in our meeting, including progress with the Deep Blue Project, send a strong and valuable message to the international community with respect to the considerable efforts your government is making to curb piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Gulf of Guinea”.
Jamoh had during the virtual meeting bemoaned the adverse effect of foreign collaboration on Nigeria’s antipiracy effort. He said, “The recent arrests of pirates have opened our eyes to a new and even more dangerous dimension to the issue of piracy and armed robbery in our waters, and that is the issue of foreign collaboration. The arrests involved Nigerians and other nationalities, whose identities I cannot disclose because the cases are under investigation.
“Piracy is taking an international dimension. We now know that pirates and other maritime criminals in our waters and the Gulf of Guinea operate with strong backing from powerful international collaborators.
“So we earnestly desire the cooperation of the international community, individual countries, organisations, and individuals to stem the ugly tide of insecurity in our waters.”
