Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has suggested a legal framework that prescribed stiff sanction, vigilant military-led patrol and better intelligence gathering network to tackle sea piracy.
Hajia Lami Tumaka, the Head of Public Relations in NIMASA, said this in a statement made available in Lagos on Monday.
The statement noted that the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, spoke with newsmen on sea piracy at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his way to Singapore.
According to the statement, Peterside said that tackling rising cases of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea requires multi-stakeholders’ approach.
The NIMASA chief noted that the activities of pirates stifled shipping and by extension, commerce which was a major driver of global economy.
Peterside said that all avenues would be explored toward keeping the Nigerian waterways safe as well as the ships plying them.
He noted that this required wider consultation.
The director-general said that NIMASA under his leadership was championing a number of initiatives aimed at achieving zero pirate activities in Nigerian waters.
He decried the inclusion of Nigeria among the top three countries where pirate activities occurred.
The director-general said that with the new impetus, the trend would be reversed in no distant time.
He noted that his administration was committed to repositioning NIMASA to accomplish its core mandate of ensuring safe, secured shipping and a cleaner marine environment.
The director-general is in Singapore on invitation of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
Peterside will address a Forum of maritime regulators and experts at this year’s Singapore Maritime Week on the topic ‘Indispensable Shipping: Meeting the Regulatory Requirements’. (NAN)
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