…Call for synergy among relevant agencies
By Ugochukwu Desmond Iwuchukwu
Lawyers in the Maritime Sector under the umbrella of the Admiralty Society of Nigeria have called for synergy among relevant agencies in charge of maritime security in Nigeria for the effective implementation of maritime laws in the country.
The President of the Admiralty Society of Nigeria Angus Chukwuka made this appeal during a press briefing on Thursday to mark the 2024 World Maritime Day with the theme “Navigating the Future; Safety First”.
World Maritime Day is a day set aside every year for stakeholders and players in the maritime industry to brainstorm over issues of maritime concern, and fashion out a way forward. Angus Chukwuka during the briefing noted that the duty of ensuring maritime safety in Nigeria should not be left in the hands of NIMASA alone.
He further tasked the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps NSCDC and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission EFCC to rise to the challenge of curbing oil theft along the waterways which causes pollution and endangers lives and property.
The President of the Admiralty Society of Nigeria also lamented the waste pollution on the waterways which he said is poisonous to aquatic life and the environment.
“We believe NIMASA has performed creditably through strategic synergy with other enforcement or compliance bodies in the reduction of piratical activities in our inland waterways and the Gulf of Guinea. Also, the body’s efforts to ensure safety and serenity in our ports through the ISPS and ISM codes have been relatively fruitful”.
“However, it is pertinent to point out that there is still much work to be done. Our coastlines are bedeviled with plastic wastes which constitute poisons to aquatic animals, eventually transferred to human consumers; breeding sicknesses like cancer and untimely death. Toxic wastes are still been dumped into our inland waters and territorial waters destroying aquatic lives, and ecosystems. Our waterways have inadequate droughts and buoys; these signify danger to vessels’ cargo, passengers, and seafarers. Maritime operations and businesses are obstructed with resulting unquantifiable economic losses. Many vessels still ply our waters, unchecked, polluting our waters with oil” he said.
The President of the Admiralty Society of Nigeria Angus Chukwuka further called on law enforcement agencies to adopt a more proactive approach to arrest and prosecute offenders who pollute the waterways in Nigeria.
Angus Chukwuka further called for regular training and retraining of maritime safety personnel to ensure they employ international best practices in maintaining safety in the maritime environment.
