By Oluwakemi Dauda
The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh has vowed to continue to collaborate with the Nigerian Navy and other relevant agencies after the duo busted a criminal ring who specialised in hijacking ocean going vessels and distort legitimate trade in the country.
Jamoh made the pledge in Lagos Tuesday, during the official handover of 10 pirates that were responsible for the cycle of criminalities in the nation’s maritime domain.
The suspected crininals had on May 15 attacked and hijacked a Chinese vessel, MV HAILUFANG II, off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire and directed it towards Nigerian waters before they were arrested through the joint effort of the Navy and NIMASA.
The vessel, it was gathered, was tracked, and the Nigerian Navy was able to interdict it 140 nautical miles south of the Lagos Fairway Buoy at about 2210 local time on the night of May 16.
Jamoh said the prosecution of the pirates would be the first trial of bandits arrested in international waters under the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act signed into law in June last year, by President Muhammadu Buhari. The law made Nigeria the first in West and Central Africa to have a distinct antipiracy legislation.
The NIMASA chief attributed the successful operation that led to the arrest of the pirates and rescue of the ship and its crew to the collaboration between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy. He said the Agency will continue to work with relevant security agencies in order to achieve its core mandatel of eradicating piracy and all forms of illegality on the Nigerian waters.
He said, “we have just witnessed the handover of pirates. This is as a result of the robust collaboration between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy. There has been a lot of synergy between NIMASA and the Navy with regard to the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act.
“I also want to seize the opportunity to thank Mr. President for signing the anti-piracy law, which would facilitate sufficient prosecution of these pirates.”
Jamoh, who was represented by the Agency’s Head of Legal Services, Mr. Victor Egejuru, assured that with the anti-piracy law, there was ample legal framework to prosecute pirates and other perpetrators of maritime offences in the country to bring the menace to the barest minimum.
Jamoh said the current management of NIMASA will focus on three main areas, namely, Maritime Security, Safety, and Shipping Development, in pursuit of a robust maritime domain for the country.
Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft, Commodore Ibrahim Shettima, who gave details of the naval operation, said the vessel had 18 crew members comprising Chinese, Ghanaians, and Ivorians.
Shettima said, “On interception of the vessel about 140nm south of Lagos Fairway Buoy, the pirates had refused to comply with the orders of the Navy ship, hence the Nigerian Navy had to conduct an opposed boarding of the vessel. All ship crew were safely rescued, while the 10 pirates were also arrested.”
He stressed the need for increased regional cooperation and information sharing, disclosing that the arrest of the pirates was due to a tip-off by the Beninoise Navy.
Shettima warned criminal elements to stay away from Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea, saying the Navy has the capability to deal with such threats.
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