Anti-Piracy Bill, Germane In Fight Against Piracy, Maritime Crime, Says Peterside

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said the Anti-Piracy and Other related Crimes at Sea Bill was critical in the fight against piracy in the nation’s waters.
The Director-General, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the law was necessary to provide the framework to fight and prosecute piracy and related maritime crimes in Nigeria.
The Anti-Piracy bill, an initiative of NIMASA, was conceived to incorporate the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the Suppression of Unlawful Acts at Sea (SUA) Conventions of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) into a comprehensive legislation.
The bill, which has already gone through first reading at the National Assembly, was drafted in collaboration with the United Nations office of Drugs and Crime and the United States Government.
He explained that: “That draft law we have put together is still undergoing the process. All I can say is that all that whatever needs to be done will be done to ensure early passage of that piece of legislature.
“ We will do so because we think it is germane to the fight against piracy and maritime crime and by extension improving the fortunes of the maritime sector.
“You know there is a co-relationship between piracy and crime and enhancement of opportunities in the maritime sector. 
“Nobody will go and invest in a place where the crime rate is high, where pirates won’t let your vessel sail as it should. 
We understand that it is important that we pass that piece of legislature. It will support our effort in promoting indigenous shipping”.
 In the meantime, Peterside said the agency, in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy, would continue to keep a watchful eye over the nation’s territorial waters against piracy and other unlawful activities.
“We now have a satellite surveillance system in place. We are getting a bird eye view of what is going on within our maritime domain.
“The other thing is that we have an MoU with the Nigerian Navy. Now this MoU helps us to tap into the information resource pool of the Navy. 
“The Navy has what is called Falcon Eye which also gives them a bird eye view of what is going on within the Nigerian territorial waters, including the blue seas and the brown seas.
“In addition, recall that we have our own helicopter which also from time to time hops around and sees what is going on. In addition, the President has recently approved a new maritime architecture.
“Part of the Maritime Security Architecture approved by the president is the fact that we are going to acquire through collaboration with some private players some Maritime Patrol Aircraft which will help us achieve 24 hours surveillance,’’ he said.
The NIMASA boss said the agency was also collaborating with neighboring maritime agencies and Navy to keep better vigilance over the nation’s waters.