President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigeria remains committed to spearheading efforts in tackling crimes in the Gulf of Guinea.
He recalled that in 2019, he assented to Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, 2019 (SPOMO Act) which was aimed to curb piracy, armed robbery and other unlawful acts against any ship lawfully operating in the Gulf of Guinea.
Buhari spoke yesterday at the national conference on organised crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea which was organised by the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC) Nigeria in Port Harcourt.
Stakeholders at the conference urged Buhari to issue the 18 modular refinery licenses already approved for Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River, Edo and Rivers states before leaving office in May as a way of mitigating organised crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
Stakeholders also charged the federal government to reach out to its counterparts in the Gulf of Guinea and immediately establish a taskforce against organised crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
Speaking at the event, the executive director of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Chief Emem Okon, regretted that women and the girlchild were the most victims of organised crimes.
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