Abstract
Biological attacks by terrorists may seem more like a plot element in an action film than a realistic threat. The possibility of biological weapons attack could be very remote. Scholars are divergent in their opinions on the plausibility of a biological attack. The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Intelligence Council stated in 2008 that bio-terrorism is a more likely threat than nuclear terrorism. Researches have revealed that of all weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons constitute the greatest worry. The most likely target for bio-terrorism is a major city or other densely crowded areas, such as transportation hubs like sea ports. This paper probes into Nigerian legislations especially the Nigerian Port Authority Act, the NIMASA Act, the Terrorism Act and the NAFDAC Act regarding biological weapons and bio-terrorism in maritime commerce parlance. It is observed in this paper that all these Acts lack preventive mechanisms in the case of the emergence of the scourge. It is argued that Nigeria is vulnerable to bio-terrorism owing to a dearth of detective measure in the boarder ports. The paper concludes that there is an urgent need to revamp the legal framework to tame the threat of bio-terrorism.
Highlights
Biological warfare is the premeditated use of one or more biological agents in warfare
The question is whether the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration Control (NAFDAC) and other maritime security agents are imbued with the necessary skills and machine to contain the occurrence of biological weapons and bio-terrorism in our maritime ports or domains
Bio-terrorism being a willful use of micro-organisms and toxins to wit plant, animal origin, microbal, etc. to produce disease, the result of which is death in humans
Summary
Biological warfare is the premeditated use of one or more biological agents in warfare. The question is whether the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration Control (NAFDAC) and other maritime security agents are imbued with the necessary skills and machine to contain the occurrence of biological weapons and bio-terrorism in our maritime ports or domains. As a port state, in an effort to combat biological weapons and bio-terrorism requires a ship to supply information before departure to the country and this must be done not later than 30 days prior to the arrival of the vessel. This in a way allows the designated agents of the government to prepare for the inspection of the incoming vessel. There are two alternatives pathways in this perspective and these are: 1. Accelerated Approval Path: One of the alternative pathways is an accelerated approval path that might apply in a situation where a life-threatening disease with an unlicensed vaccine that has meaningful therapeutic benefit over existing options
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