Nigeria plans to prosecute pirates under new anti-piracy law

Nigeria is set to prosecute the first set of pirates arrested on its waters in line with the new anti-piracy law.

Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Bashir Jamoh, who disclosed this during the official handover of pirates arrested by the Nigerian Navy (NN) for prosecution in Lagos, expressed the agency’s commitment to collaborate with relevant agencies and stakeholders to ensure adequate security of the nation’s maritime domain.

The arrested 10 pirates had on May 15, 2020 attacked and boarded a Chinese vessel, MV HAILUFANG II, off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire and directed it towards Nigerian waters. They were arrested by the NN, which dispatched a ship to intercept the vessel after it got an alert.

Jamoh attributed the successful operation that led to the arrest of the pirates and rescue of the ship and its crew to collaboration between NIMASA and the NN.

He said the agency would continue to work with relevant security agencies to achieve its goal of eradicating piracy and all forms of illegality on the Nigerian waters.

Jamoh, represented by the agency’s Head of Legal Services, Mr. Victor Egejuru, assured that with the anti-piracy law, there was ample legal framework to prosecute pirates and other perpetrators of maritime offences.