N5m fine, for illegal importers exporters of nuclear materials

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

Anyone who illegally imports or exports nuclear materials should be sentenced to five-year jail term, the Senate proposed on Tuesday.

Alternatively, the offender should pay N5 million fine to the government coffers, the Upper Chamber said.

In the case of a corporate entity, the Bill prescribes a fine of not less than N20 million on conviction.

The punishment would also apply to anyone dealing in similarly proscribed substances without a licence from the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).

The proposed legal provisions are contained in a Bill, titled: “A Bill for an Act to repeal the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act Number 19 of 1995, enact Nuclear Safety, Security and safety and Safeguards Act and re-establish the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority and for related matters.”

The Senate passed the Bill for a second reading on Tuesday.

The Bill provides that an offending director or officer of a corporate body shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years or an option of fine of not less than N5 million, or to both fine and imprisonment.

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It also provides that “any operator of nuclear installation, who fails to take measures to secure any nuclear material in such a manner as to result in unauthorised access, theft or loss of control of such materials or sources, commits an offence and shall, in the case of an individual, be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years or a fine of not less than N10 million, or to both.

“In the case of a corporate body, be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N50 million,” the Bill proposes.

The Bill, which was sponsored by Deputy Senate Leader Ajayi Boroffice (Ondo North), seeks to regulate nuclear sources of energy in the country.

In his lead debate, Boroffice explained that the Bill seeks to re-establish an existing legal framework for the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) by expanding its mandate to include security and safeguards for the nuclear industry in Nigeria.

“The existing law (Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act Number 19 of 1995) is 25 years old. It has been overtaken by events and developments in the field of nuclear technology.

“It falls below the minimum standards of independence and other requirements, considered to be indispensable and prescribed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for national nuclear relay bodies worldwide…”