Director of Shipping Development of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Captain Warredi Enisuoh, and a cross-section of senior lawyers in Lagos, at the weekend have called for stiffer penalties to curb the menace of sea robbery, piracy and kidnapping on the country’s territorial waters.
The call was made on Saturday at the end of year lecture of the Apapa lawyers’ forum of the Nigerian Bar Association, held in Auditorium of the Apapa Local Council in Lagos. Enisuoh revealed that the Federal Government would invest heavily in the coming years on security on the country’s waterways which will include both patrol ships and air defence. Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN) called for special courts to try maritime crime.
“There is an emerging trend of criminal activities on our waterways. We need to evolve new methods where criminals are apprehended, tried and punished. The activities of maritime criminals have significantly affected the country’s revenue. We cannot fold our hands and allow this situation to continue.”
The chairman of the organizing committee of the lecture, Tony Dania, said lawyers in Apapa have resolved to throw their weight behind NIMASA by offering free legal services to the organization in its bid to curb sea piracy and other maritime crime.
Chairman of Apapa lawyers’ forum, Tajudeen Amusa, said the body was formed to cater for welfare of lawyers within the axis. A one-minute silence was observed in honour of late former South African leader and world icon, Mr. Nelson Mandela, who Amusa described as “a lawyer of substance, an activist, and a black-man that successfully fought for the independence of South Africa.”
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