The Senate has scaled up measures to tackle sea piracy in the Nigerian maritime borders, as the upper chambers passed second reading the Bill seeking to provide separate legal framework to enable government met out adequate punishment against culprits in sea piracy on Nigerian waters.
The Bill which passed second reading in the Senate yesterday, was sponsored by Senator Nelson Effiong and is titled “A Bill for an Act to make provisions for the suppression of piracy and to provide for punishment for the offense of piracy and for matters connected therewith, 2017”.
In the anti-sea piracy bill imprisonment for life is proposed for offenders as well as death penalty for any accused who in the act of sea piracy, caused death of any of the victim.
According to Senator Effiong in his lead debate on the bill, Nigeria is presently losing about $1.5billion a month due to sea piracy, armed robberies at sea, smuggling and fuel supply fraud on sea.
He said Nigeria being an import dependent economy must do more to guarantee the safe arrival of goods at her shores, adding that it is therefore important and urgent that a law be put in place that will discourage, suppress sea piracy and punish those who engage in it.
He added that the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), in its report said while the incidence of sea piracy is dropping in other territorial waters, it is increasing here in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, stressing that the observation by IMB is a clarion call on this Senate to make laws that will make potential pirates to weigh the enormity of the punishment that will be meted to them, if caught.
In their contributions, Senators Murtala Nyako, Shehu Sani, James Manager, Godswil Akpabio and Abdullahi Adamu emphasised the need to domesticate international laws on piracy to help tackle the problem which had continue to affect economic activities and security.
They expressed concern that the issue of piracy was on the decrease in other countries, it was on the rise in Nigeria, adding that when people are arrested we find it difficult to prosecute them because our laws do not apply to the crime.
In his remarks, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who presided over plenary said the issue of sea piracy is an embarrassment that has done a lot of damages to our economy.
“In the past, parliament had responded to this kind of call by making separate legislations to such crimes that are embarrassment to us as a country, like terrorism, obtaining money by false pretences and other of such offences which are already in our criminal code and penal code, necessitating the one against sea piracy”, he said.
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