Establish special courts for maritime cases, Panelists advise GoG Countries

Abiola Seun |

The countries in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) region have been advised to establish specialised maritime courts to handle cases of sea robbery, piracy and other maritime offences .

This is one of the recommendations reached at a thematic panel sessions tagged, “Maritime Governance and Blue Economy held on Monday at the ongoing Global Maritime Security Conference in Abuja.

The thematic session which was moderated by Adekola Oyenuga, the Chief Executive Officer of AO Blue Economy & Energy Consulting had Christina Katsouri, an associate Fellow Africa Programme, Chatham house as the lead speaker.

The panelists are Dr Ifesinachi Okafor, Commander Tsietsi Mokhele, Abou Bamba and Dr Robert McCabe.

According to the recommendations made available to newsmen, the speakers said the establishment of the specialised maritime courts would be desirable to ensure quick dispensation of cases.

The panelists also agreed that the Nigerian Government should re-invest in the Niger-Delta communities, educate, create skills development and enshrine adequate compensation scheme for the youths in the communities

The recommendation reads, “Nigerian Government should re-invest in the Niger-Delta communities, educate, create skills development and enshrine adequate compensation scheme for the youths in the communities

“Governments should review and revise extant fishing laws and regulations and as well as ensure enforcement of the laws with particular attention on monitoring, control and surveillance.

“Emplace all inclusive approach in the collaboration between relevant public and private entities for the actualization of the Blue Economy.”

They also advised that Nigerian government should build peace and provide social amenities in the Niger Delta region for peace in the GoG region.

“States should provide for decisive leadership in the blue and ocean economy. Establish specialised maritime courts to handle cases of sea robbery, piracy and other maritime offences may be desirable to ensure quick dispensation of cases.

“The Nigerian Government should build peace in the Niger Delta by providing social amenities, investing in sustainable livelihood for the communities in the zone.

“African Countries should leverage on the existing opportunities in deep sea mining activities and the resources abound in areas beyond national jurisdiction by taking advantage their membership status with the international seabed authority and applying for mining licenses.”