Against the backdrop of escalating robbery on Nigerian waters, the Shippers Association of Lagos (SAL) has raised alarm that Nigerian waters were gradually becoming notorious for armed robbery.
The body, through its General Secretary; Mr Jonathan Nicol, said on Tuesday in Lagos that the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will need to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to effectively fight robbery on Nigerian waters.
Against the backdrop of escalating robbery on Nigerian waters, the Shippers Association of Lagos (SAL) has raised alarm that Nigerian waters were gradually becoming notorious for armed robbery.
The body, through its General Secretary; Mr Jonathan Nicol, said on Tuesday in Lagos that the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will need to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to effectively fight robbery on Nigerian waters.
Nicol said that while piracy remained a global issue, NIMASA should leverage the safety of goods and ships in the Nigerian water ways.
“NIMASA should use helicopter regularly to checkmate these pirates and also use the police for their protection and the Nigerian Customs service protection.
“We also have the Nigerian police all fully equipped to make sure that our waterways are safe.
“If our Federal Government fails to do this, it means we are going to lose so much revenue from that sector. Yes, we know that piracy is a global thing but it can be managed,” Nicol said.
He described as regrettable the recorded loss of lives and attacks by armed robbers and pirates on Nigerian waters compared with other West African countries.
“We have had quit a lot of complaints from our fishermen that they are being raided by pirates, some of them lost their lives and one of the two fishing companies left Nigerian shores to Ghana.
“Ghana is doing very fine; it has quite close to 100 fishing trawlers, operating within her territorial waters,” Nicol said.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that the NIMASA Director of Shipping and Development; Capt. Wareedi Enisuoh, had earlier at a stakeholders’ forum canvassed for a concerted effort aimed at addressing the security challenges on Nigerian waters.
Enisuoh said that the incessant robbery cases and the hijackers of fishing trawlers had robbed the nation huge revenue from stagnated fishing activities.
“It is our natural resource, we have the responsibility to protect it and we also have the responsibility to ensure that it works,’’ Enisuoh said.
According to him, NIMASA has initiated some interim measures to enhance security within and outside the nation’s territorial waters.
Enisuoh said that contrary to other opinions they were working with law enforcement agencies to ensure that the water ways were safe for freighting and fishing.
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