By Stephen Ubanna
In spite of the almost two months of inactivity in the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, due to the involvement of Bashir Jamoh, Director General of the Maritime Regulatory agency , in the murky waters of Nigerian politics, his subsequent return appears to have once again exposed his good works that Dongban Mensem, President of the Nigerian Courts of Appeal could not hide his impression about him.
The Court of Appeal President may have taken advantage of the Workhop organised recently by the Nigeria Shippers Council , NSC, under the close watch of Emmanuel Jime, for Judges to commend the NIMASA, Director General for his immense contribution ‘’to keeping judicial officers abreast with relevant knowledge to handle maritime matters’’.
According to him, ‘’ the NIMASA boss has set worthy examples for other Maritime agencies , Chief Executive Officers, CEOs, in the nation’s maritime sector, which has increased judges capacity to perform better’’. The Apellt Court President who could not hide his feelings had commended the NIMASA helmsman at the NSC Worksho for judges for his ‘’exemplary Leadership role in advancing the cause of adjudication in admiralty matters’’.
He noted that over the last two years, the NIMASA boss, had made appreciable impact in the nation’s maritime sector which touches on areas like ‘’timely and easier interpretation of the Suppression of Piracy and the Maritime Offences, SPOMO, Bill passed by the National Assembly and signed by President Muhammadu Buhari into Law in June 2019.
Recall that at similar admiralty Conference was organised by the agency in 2021, where Jamoh, the NIMASA helmsman, had told the participants that the agency has achieved ‘’milestones in the pursuit of the target of continuously improving maritime Law administration in Nigeria’’.
It is instructive to note the SPOMO Act aims at achieving a’’ safer Nigeria maritime domain, alternative dispute resolution and equally set limits of admiralty jurisdictions in Nigeria amongst others’’ for the Judges.
Edward Osagie, an Assistant Director and the agency spokesperson had said that since the implementation of the SPOMO Law, NMASA had convicted a good number of pirates. The NIMASA Assistant Director had cited the three pirates arrested and convicted over their alleged involvement in the hijack of an Equatorial Guinean flagged vessel named, MV. ELOBEY VI, off Equatorial Guinea’s coast in August 2020.
Last year, 10 other pirates were said to have been sentenced to a total of 48 years imprisonment under the SPOMO Act for hijacking a Fishing vessel , FVHai Lu Fang II, in May 2020 belonging an Asian country of China fishing company. The convicts were also fined N10 million.
The conviction of these pirates operating in the Gulf of Guinea may have opened the flood gate for the arrest and conviction of other pirates at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt and Lagos, the nation’s commercial nerve centre.
The arrest and conviction of the alleged pirates have encouraged the NIMASA boss to beat his chest that ‘’these have greatly helped to improve Nigeria’s image in the comity of nations by better appreciating the country’s role and determination to end piracy and other maritime crimes in in the nation’s maritime domain and the Gulf of Guinea’’.
There is no gain saying the fact that with the efforts put in place by Jamoh led NISA, to combat maritime maritime crimes and sea robbery in Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea, the International Maritime Bureau, IMB, has delisted Nigeria from the world pirates records list, leaving Benin Republc, Sao Tome and Principe leading the most dangerous waters to trade in the world.. That much was confirmed by the NIMASA Director General in March, 2022.
Indeed, with the deployment of the $195 million maritime security assets comprising of 17 Interception Boats, for Coastal Patrol, 16 Armoured Vehicles, Two Special Mission Vessels, Two Special Mission Aircrafts for Surveillance of Nigerian Exclusive, Economic Zone, EEZ, and four unmanned Aerial vehicles supplied by the Israeli security firm, HLSI Systems and Technologies Limited , contracted by the government in 2017, to contain the activities of Pirates and other sea thieves to facilitate the free movement of ocean going vessels laden with cargoes in the pirates appear to be trouble.
This is because most of the pirates who could no longer bear the heat from the Nigeria Navy operating the maritime Interception Boats and two Special Mission vessels, were said to have relocated to the West African countries of Ghana, Togo and the Central African countries of Cameroon and Gabon.
Notwithstanding that some of the pirates arrested by the Navy and handed over to NIMASA for prosecution have been convicted between 2020 and 2021, at the at the Federal High Courts in PortHarcourt and Lagos in the case brought against them the Nigerian Navy , under the close watch of Vice Admiral Awwal ` Zubairu Gambo, has frowned at ‘’the discretionary powers granted the Judges of all the Federal High Courts in sentencing suspects convicted under the SPOMO Act.
Jamila Malafa, a Commodore and the Director , Legal, Nigerian Navy, had told those that cares to listen that’’ the discretionary powers of the judges under the SPOMO Act have resulted in the lenient sentencing or imposition of fines on the persons so far convicted for piracy and sea robbery , rather than giving them life imprisonment as a deterrence to others.
The Naval Commodore would want NIMASA and other relevant agencies with link to the nation’s maritime sector ‘’to challenge the discretionary powers of the Federal High Court Judges so as ‘’ to strengthen the fight against piracy and other maritime crimes in Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea .
He had said that piracy and armed robbery at the Nigerian maritime domain and the Gulf of Guinea, will persist and which will still give the Naval personnel more job to do ‘’ if other countries in the region fail ‘’to create the Legal framework to prosecute perpetrators of the crime’’.
