Abstract
Nigeria’s June 2019 law on piracy and other maritime offences is an important step in securing the country’s coastline and seas. The Ant-Piracy law on Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, [1] 2019 (POMO Act) aims to ‘prevent and suppress piracy, armed robbery and any other unlawful act against a ship, aircraft and any other maritime craft, including fixed and floating platforms.’ It also observed that this law gives effect to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS) and the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, 1988 (SUA). Despite the enactment of this huge law and policies targeted at ameliorating the numerous problems at Nigeria’s coastline and seas, the situation in Nigeria seems degenerating owing to the fact that there are no adequate compliance of the laws as well as the ineffective implementation or enforcement of the law. This paper seeks to critically evaluate the impacts of the Act and also its weaknesses. It also discusses Nigeria’s capacity to implement its new law and detect and prosecute crimes. Analysis includes an evaluation of the steps taken by the governments of the region and the effectiveness of the implemented strategies to counter the threat posed by piracy in the region. In identifying the barriers and challenges to combat piracy, a comprehensive arrangement based effective cooperation is proposed in the paper. Keywords : PIRACY LAW, NIGERIA DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/113-06 Publication date: September 30 th 2021 * PhD & LLM (Coventry), BL (Nigeria), LLB (London Met), Lecturer, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Rivers State University. Email: victor.enebeli@yahoo.co.uk , Phone: 09020176657 ** LL.M (RSU) in view; BL (Abuja); LL.B (UK); Dip-in-Law (UK). Senior Associate Tuduru Ede, SAN & Co. Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Email: david.chibuike22@yahoo.com/ikemefula20@yahoo.com . 08065357894, 08052339985 [1] https://lawnigeria.com/2019/12/suppression-of-piracy-and-other-maritime-offences-act-2019/ accessed 04/08/2021
Highlights
The Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Bill was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria in July 2019 thereby enabling Nigeria to establish a domestic legal framework for dealing with piracy and other maritime crimes
The Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, 1988 and its Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf Protocol were subsequently adopted under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to fill the gap in the international legal regime to combat maritime terrorism which became noticeable following the Achille Lauro incident of 1985
Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (2005 SUA Convention) The continued vulnerability of maritime transport to terrorist attacks was demonstrated by the bombing in February 2004 of the vessel SuperFerry 14.7 after the use of unlawfully seized aircraft as impact and incendiary weapons in terrorist attacks on World Trade Centre, New York, the United States in September 2001 (9/11) and the use of an explosive laden ship to attack the oil tanker Limburg in 2002, the IMO Legal Committee produced draft amendments to the 1988 SUA Convention and its Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf Protocol
Summary
The Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Bill was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria in July 2019 thereby enabling Nigeria to establish a domestic legal framework for dealing with piracy and other maritime crimes It took almost a decade of advocacy to implement such a law in order to curb and deter sea piracy, armed robbery and other unlawful acts at sea. 7 as the formal definition of piracy under international law came to be understood as limited to acts of violence perpetrated for financial purposes, there were still acts of violence at sea undertaken for political reasons These violent acts, if performed outside the territorial sea, were not recognized as crimes over which all states could exercise jurisdiction, as is the case with piracy. A timeline of select incidents affecting maritime navigation is contained in Table 1 below
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
