The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency’s renewed efforts in getting rid of pirates and sea robbers from Nigerian waters and ensure that the entire Gulf of Guinea region remains safe and secure for shipping activities to thrive have received commendation from international shipping community.
The commendation, which was given by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the specialised shipping regulatory agency of the United Nations, is coming on the backdrop of recent arrests and first-time prosecution of suspected pirates under Nigeria’s new antipiracy law.
According to IMO, the recent arrests have sent ‘strong and valuable message’ to the global community that Gulf of Guinea is no longer a safe haven for pirates and other perpetrators of maritime crimes.
Just recently, IMO also commended Bashir Jamoh, director-general of NIMASA, for his brave and dynamic approach to maritime security. This was contained in a letter addressed to him by Kitack Lim, IMO secretary-general.
Lim, who expressed satisfaction with Nigeria’s efforts to address maritime security threats in the region, described Jamoh’s leadership and proactive response to maritime security issues as laudable.
“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,” Lim stated in the letter.
“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,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jamoh had told the IMO secretary-general at a previous virtual meeting after the arrest of some pirates by the Nigerian Navy, in partnership with NIMASA, 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 nation’s waters of maritime crimes.
“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,” Jamoh stated.
“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,” he said.
He, however, said that NIMASA would continue to do its best and update IMO on progress made with its strategies.
Meanwhile, Lim assured NIMASA of IMO’s readiness to assist in the training of personnel and technical assistance, and also declared his willingness to talk to other member countries to assist in that respect.
He said IMO would help to deal with the issue of synergy in laws regarding piracy with other neighbouring countries.
Recall that the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act was signed into law in June 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari. The law made Nigeria the first in West and Central Africa to have a distinct antipiracy legislation.
Also, NIMASA recently improved its collaboration with the Navy and other stakeholders in an effort to change the ugly narrative of piracy and sea robbery in its maritime domain and the Gulf of Guinea.
The new arrangement involves information sharing between NIMASA’s Command, Control, Communication, Computers, and Intelligence Centre (C4i Centre) of the Deep Blue Project, which commenced operations on a 24 hour basis since 2019, and the Nigerian Navy’s Falcon Eye to help track and combat criminal elements in the country’s maritime domain.
The Deep Blue Project, also known as the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, aims to comprehensively tackle insecurity on Nigeria’s territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone, up to the Gulf of Guinea.
On the back of the new partnership between NIMASA and the Navy, the country has made record arrests of pirates, with some already facing prosecution such that the Nigerian Navy recently arrested a vessel, MFV Marine 707, which was engaged in illegal fishing in the nation’s waters.
Earlier, 10 pirates who had on May 15 attacked and boarded a Chinese vessel, MV HAILUFANG II, off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire and directed it towards Nigerian waters were also arrested by the Navy.
