The Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies (MLEA) has called on the Federal Government to initiate processes that will help in enacting a new law to combat maritime crimes in the country.

The group made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of their inter-agency seminar titled ‘Inter-Agency Cooperation, Panacea for Degradation of the Maritime Environment’ held in Ubima, in Rivers State.

The MLEA pointed out at the seminar, which was part of Module for Naval Warfare Course 2 of the Naval War College, Nigeria, that enacting such a law would improve maritime safety in the Nigerian waterways and by implications, impact positively on the nation’s economy.

Earlier in his paper titled ‘Implementation of the HSOP on Arrest, Detention and Prosecution’ the Deputy Director, Data, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Matthew Onwuegbu, pointed out that the absence of any law to provide a legal platform for the implementation of the HSOP had continued to undermine its effectiveness.

Specifically, he lamented that the HSOP which was produced by a Presidential Committee of MLEA set up in 2016, had, despite its immense potential to improve maritime safety in the country, remained largely ineffective

Onwuegbu attributed this to the fact that its implementation, which was being carried out  without statutory backing had undermined its relevance to providing appropriate procedures for arrest of ships or persons involved in maritime crimes in Nigeria’s territorial waterways.

He therefore advocated the imperative of a legal instrument to provide enforcement backing to the HSOP as a strategic option of improving maritime safety in the country.