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Tag: Coast guard

  • Coast Guard: Stakeholders, experts seek clarity

    Coast Guard: Stakeholders, experts seek clarity

    Stakeholders and experts in the nation’s maritime sector have rallied behind the Coast Guard Bill.

    The bill currently under review by the National Assembly, has been hailed by them as a pivotal step towards bolstering maritime security and enhancing the nation’s capacity to combat maritime crimes. 

    During a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, maritime industry leaders and legal experts provided their perspectives on the proposed establishment of the Nigeria Coast Guard.

    While the discussions highlighted overwhelming support for the bill, they also emphasised the need for precision in its provisions to avoid overlaps with existing agencies and ensure its operational efficiency. 

    Among the proponents of the bill was a renowned legal expert, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, who described the legislation as “timely and necessary” for addressing growing maritime security challenges. He advocated for professional input in refining the bill, offering to assist in this effort. 

    A former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Ade Dosunmu, praised the initiative but suggested a clear delineation of responsibilities between the Nigerian Navy and the proposed Coast Guard.

    He argued that the Navy should focus on blue-water defence and national security, while the Coast Guard would be better suited to handle law enforcement and rescue operations along Nigeria’s 855-kilometer coastline.

    Citing examples from maritime powers like the United States, India, and Singapore, he underscored the importance of complementary roles between the two entities. 

    However, Dosunmu cautioned against assigning responsibilities such as hydrographic and oceanographic research to the Coast Guard, emphasizing that these roles are already managed by other specialized agencies. He warned that overloading the Coast Guard’s mandate could compromise its primary mission. 

    Representing the Nigerian Bar Association, Jean Anishere, lent her support to the bill but flagged ambiguities that could hinder its implementation. She called for a review of specific provisions to ensure clarity and consistency with existing maritime laws. 

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    A former Flag Officer Commanding the Nigerian Navy Training Command, Retired Rear Admiral Ekwerre U. Ekwerre, provided a military perspective, urging the Navy to prioritise defense and diplomatic operations within territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

    He emphasised the importance of assigning law enforcement and security tasks within inland waters to the Coast Guard to prevent duplication of roles. 

    The Coast Guard Bill garnered significant backing from stakeholders who view it as a much-needed measure to address Nigeria’s maritime security challenges. However, calls for precision in its provisions reflect a shared commitment to ensuring that the proposed agency is both effective and aligned with the nation’s broader maritime strategy. As deliberations continue, they are optimistic that the final legislation will establish a robust framework for the Nigeria Coast Guard, strengthening the nation’s capacity to protect its maritime assets and interests.

  • Why the Coast Guard Bill needs to be rested

    Why the Coast Guard Bill needs to be rested

    •  By Musa Ilallah

    Let’s begin this by recalling that a bill to establish the Nigerian Coast Guard which has scaled second reading in the Senate and sponsored as a private member bill by Senator Wasiu Eshilokun (APC- Lagos), recently led the debate at the Senate’s plenary on the general principles of the bill. Leading the debate, Eshilokun said the bill sought to establish the Nigerian Coast Guard to be charged with the responsibility of securing maritime zones within Nigeria. The Bill seeks to establish a coast guard as a military service and a branch of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. You cannot establish a branch of the Armed Forces through a private member’s Bill of the National Assembly. It is a breach of due process.

    The expansion of the armed forces can and should be an executive function, with the consideration and approval of the Federal Executive Council. It is beyond the scope and capacity of an individual member of the National Assembly. Second, it is a gross duplication of existing institutions and functions: The coast guard is a clear duplication of the functions of the Nigerian Navy as stated in Armed Forces Cap 20, which is an amplification of S217 of the Nigerian Constitution, creating the armed forces and outlining what their responsibilities would be.

    The coast guard seeks to duplicate the Nigerian Navy, creating a parallel agency that will dissipate energy and resources. Coast guard promoters argue that unlike the Nigerian Navy, which is a ‘fighting force’, the coast guard is meant to be a civilian law enforcement agency, implementing maritime regulations and protecting natural resources and inland waters.

    The fact is that the functions being proposed here are already being fully carried out between the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Inland Waterways, NIWA, Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency, NIMASA and the Marine Police. Even the Nigerian Customs Service has a Maritime Division. An additional agency will do nothing to improve the situation; if anything, it will increase dysfunction.

    The Establishment Act of the Nigerian Navy already fully takes care of all the functions being claimed by the promoters of the coast guard. It will also duplicate and conflict with the functions of other players in the maritime sector – the Bill wants the coast guard to be responsible for the training of seafarers, which by the Merchant Shipping Act and NIMASA Act are clearly the job of NIMASA.

     The Bill also wants it to be involved in hydrography, despite the fact that the Navy is in charge of hydrography and that there was a recent presidential approval for the conversion of the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office into the National Hydrographic Agency, and the designation of the Nigerian Navy Hydrographer as the Hydrographer of the Federation.

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    The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) is tasked with the mandate of enforcing laws and regulations in Nigeria’s inland waters, which further renders a coast guard irrelevant.

    At this point when the federal government is trying to implement the spirit of the Oronsaye reforms, a coast guard is an unnecessary and wasteful venture.

     Third, it is a recipe for chaos and confusion. A Nigerian Coast Guard will compound existing challenges being experienced in the administration of Nigeria’s maritime environment. It will complicate the coordination, heighten unnecessary competition and undermine cohesion, leading to anarchy. The implication of this will be that bad actors in Nigeria’s maritime space will gain an advantage, with possible outcomes such as Nigeria being re-listed on the Maritime Piracy Index, which it exited in 2022 thanks to the efforts of the Nigerian Navy and other stakeholders.

    The Bill being pushed wants the coast guard to be headed by a serving Naval Officer, without considering what this would mean for the standard military chain of command. Fourth, it will inflict a significant additional fiscal burden on Nigeria’s resources.

    The promoters have not yet provided any cost estimates as to the full fiscal implications – establishment and operations – of yet another maritime institution.

    This is at a time when Nigeria is struggling to control public spending, and optimise the provision of resources to existing institutions. Instead of a new agency, with new spending to ensure take-off, the country’s scarce resources should be invested in strengthening and bolstering the functions and capacity of the Nigerian Navy and other existing stakeholders like NIWA, NIMASA and the Marine Police.

    Promoters of the coast guard say that a coast guard is ‘international best practice’, because the United States and United Kingdom have coast guards separate from the Navy. This ‘best practice’ claim is not correct. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) does not dictate how countries structure the administration and operations of their maritime environment.

    There are many countries in the world that do not combine a Navy and a coast guard.

     Also, in the case of the US, there are peculiar domestic legal contexts (like the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878) that necessitate the US having a separate coast guard for domestic functions – a situation that is very different from Nigeria’s own. As for the UK, the HM Coastguard is purely an unarmed emergency rescue service, staffed primarily by volunteers – nine of every ten members of the HM Coastguard are volunteers. Fifth, it is a worrying case of jumping the gun. Promoters of the coast guard have gone ahead to establish a website that suggests that the guard is already in legitimate operation.

    This posturing of false legitimacy even when a public hearing has yet to hold suggests a desperation that is out of place, and that should provoke deep thinking from all and sundry.

     The coast guard idea is one that needs to die once and for all. It is an idea that pops up every couple of years, and always falls apart upon scrutiny. It has now become a recurring waste of time, attention and the public resources used in resurrecting it every couple of years.

     Nigeria does not need a Coast Guard Service, and hopefully this attempt will be the last wild goose chase in this regard.

    The proposed Coast Guard and its recurring Bill should be allowed to rest in peace.

    •Ilallah, a public affairs analyst based in Abuja can be reached at musahk123@yahoo.com

  • Coast guard corps warns against duplication

    Coast guard corps warns against duplication

    The Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps has cautioned the National Assembly against giving legal teeth to any other establishment that will be a duplicate of the corps.

    In a letter to the National Assembly, the corps said registering another corps with the same roles will be a duplication since its own bill was being considered for third reading  by both arms of the National Assembly.

    The letter, which was signed by Cpt. O. E. Adeniran, said considering another corps will cause confusion, waste of resources and scuttle legislative process in the National Assembly.

    The letter was copied the President of the Senate, Speaker, House Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport,  and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

    It reads in parts: ”It has come to our attention that certain bills with the same aim and purpose as ours, bearing the name “Coast Guard,” have been introduced for consideration in both houses. We strongly believe that this duplication of bills can lead to confusion and unnecessary redundancy in the legislative process.

    “The Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps is a well-established institution with registration number NG/TM/O/2022/86868 with a mission to safeguard our coastlines and protect the nation’s maritime interests. We have worked diligently to develop a comprehensive bill that addresses the specific needs and challenges faced by our organization.

    “This bill is currently awaiting third reading in both chambers, and we believe it provides an effective framework to enhance security and safety measures in our maritime domain.

    “As advocates for efficient governance and legislation, we kindly request your attention to this matter. We encourage you, as esteemed lawmakers, to avoid the introduction of bills duplicating the purposes and intents of ongoing legislative processes. Such duplication can lead to unnecessary delays, confusion, and inefficiency within the lawmaking process.

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    “We humbly urge the Senate and the House of Representatives to take the necessary steps to ensure that any bill related to the establishment of a Coast Guard, or similar maritime security and safety agency, is aligned with the ongoing legislative process concerning the bill initiated by the Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps.

    “Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps is not a proscribed organisation as our name is not among the list of proscribed organisation in the 2013 Gazette. If we have been proscribed, our bill will never have passed second reading in the National Assembly and any bill coming up with same name “Coast Guard” is a duplication of our bill and this is the bitter truth.”