The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside has promised that the Agency is working with Stakeholders and the global maritime community to ensure that the menace of piracy is stamped out in the Gulf of Guinea in order to allow for free flow of trade in the region.
The Director General, who spoke on the sideline of the G7++ group summit held in Lagos, said that the fact that the Italian government decided to hold the meeting in Lagos Nigeria, which is the first time outside Europe, shows that they believe in the country’s efforts to fight piracy and other criminal activities in the Nigeria and in the Gulf of Guinea.
He said that since Nigeria has been given the leadership role to curtail criminal activities in the region, the Agency would continue to collaborate with the relevant authorities, both locally and internationally to put an end to the issues surrounding piracy in the region.
Dr. Peterside said that NIMASA is tackling piracy from four broad approaches namely; Legal framework through an anti-piracy bill, which will soon be passed to law, thereby making Nigeria the first country in the whole of Africa to formulate such policy.
Others are acquisition of military hardware, through partnership with an Israeli firm, which will enhance our response capabilities to criminal activities, enhancing our intelligence gathering system and regional integration and collaboration through working with other African countries.
“No piracy begins and ends in one jurisdiction; when there is a hot pursuit, they shift to another region, and on our part, we are determined to give them a hot chase through our partnership and other collaboration with other countries in the region.”
The G7++ Friends of Gulf of Guinea Group is headed by the Italian government and is poised to ensure sustainable interest in the promotion of peace, security and development in the Gulf of Guinea.[myad]
