- To begin trail of suspected pirates this week
The Federal Governent at the weekend said it is putting finishing touches to modalities for the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), targeted at boosting vessel acquisition by indigenous shippers.
Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, disclosed this while speaking in Lagos as part of activities marking his 100 days in office at the helm of affairs at the agency.
Jamoh assured that operators in the maritime industry would soon begin to access the fund currently standing at over $200 million.
He revealed that NIMASA had already sent a proposal to the Federal Government on the issue of providing incentives for stakeholders in the maritime sector which is now awaiting approval.
Meanwhile, as part of efforts to rid Nigeria’s waterways of criminal and reassure the global community of its commitment to the security of its maritime domain, Jamoh said Nigeria will from this week commence the prosecution of suspected pirates under the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act.
According to him, the Nigerian Navy had recently arrested about 10 pirates recently with intelligence support from NIMASA, and their trial will be the first under the anti-piracy law signed in June last year by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He added that the law made Nigeria the first in West and Central Africa to have a standalone anti-piracy legislation. The NIMASA boss said the agency was mounting a spirited campaign to root out piracy and armed robbery in the country’s waters.
He said Nigeria’s waters are now safer for navigation, as the proactive approach of NIMASA to safety and security at sea had started yielding fruits as evidenced in the multiple arrests of suspected pirates in the second quarter of the year.
He said, “fighting crime with intelligence and technology had been the hallmark of his administration in its battle against piracy since coming on board three months ago.”
Jamoh, who launched a three-point agenda focused on Maritime Safety, Maritime Security, and Shipping Development, with the acronym 3S, on assumption of office, stated, “collapsing our agenda into security, safety and shipping development has given us a bird’s-eye view of the challenges inherent in our sector. Our strategy of nipping piracy in the bud is yielding positive fruit and that is why the Navy and the Police have arrested a total of 27 suspected pirates in the last two months.”
“Our findings have revealed that these criminals work with the cooperation of international allies and that is what makes them sophisticated. We have set out to tackle them through intelligence gathering and collaboration with relevant stakeholders. Our recent arrests have shown the international community that we are not handling illegalities in our waters with kid gloves.”
He expressed delight in the changing international opinion on safety and security in Nigerian waters, as seen in a recent congratulatory letter by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to Nigeria for its zeal towards making the country’s waters safe and secure.
