Nigeria’s proposed Maritime Security Bill will establish a Maritime Security Agency responsible for gathering and sharing intelligence among security and maritime agencies.

Stakeholders agreed that there was need to strengthen the sector, but differed on other aspects of the initiative, at a one-day public hearing chaired by Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Transport.

The document is an Executive Bill forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.

While Aondoakaa insisted that the bill is a must to protect the territorial integrity of the nation, Muktar, who aligned himself with the justice minister, said the PICOMSS set up by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in September 2003 currently handles most of the areas the new bill proposes.

Aondoakaa who was represented by the Legal Draughtsman for the Ministry of Justice, Abdulsaheed Ibrahim, noted that the proposed agency was a follow-up on the recommendations of the audit report from International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 2007 and U.S. coastal guard of 2008 on "gathering actionable intelligence and the need to identify threats and responses on issues relating to maritime security".

But Akhigbe on his part said the committee should throw the bill into the waste basket.

Those who shared his viewpoints also described as unnecessary the duplication of the outfits meant to tackle security issues in Nigeria's maritime environment.