The Nigerian Senate has on Tuesday in its quest to strengthen laws of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) have move to sanction importers of Nuclear material.
The Lawmakers warned that any importer or exporter of the prohibited nuclear material would risk a jail term of not less than five years or an option of five million naira.
However, when it is a corporate body, the law stipulates for a fine of up to 20 million upon conviction.
The bill for the act to Repel the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act 1995 was purposely enacted to closely monitor and regulate the nuclear source of energy in the country.
The law provides that an airing offender be it private or corporate body shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term of a minimum of five years or an option of fine of not less than five million nairas or both.
More so, the law also stipulates that any operator of nuclear installation, who did not put in place measures to secure nuclear material in such a manner resulting in unauthorised access, theft or loss of control of such materials or sources commits an offence and shall in the case of an individual, be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years or a fine of not less than N10 million or to both; and in the case of a corporate body, be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N50 million.
Thus, the lawmakers under the same bill are proposing the re-establishment and composition of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), with membership from Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).
The sponsor of the bill, Senator Robert Ajayi B office (APC Ondo North), while presenting his argument stated the bill seek to re-establish an already existing legal framework for the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory through expanding its mandate to include security and safeguard for the nuclear industry in Nigeria.
In his statement, “It falls below the minimum standards of independence and other requirements, considered to be Indispensable and prescribed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for national nuclear relay our bodies worldwide.
“The current law does not provide for the regulation of the Nuclear Power Programme and Nuclear emergency preparedness; and does not deal with the growing challenge of radioactive waste management,” Boroffice noted.
Although he acknowledged Nigeria does not generate energy from nuclear reactors but is mulling venturing into it soon because the nuclear power offers one of the cleanest sources of energy, reduces the amount of energy generated from fossil fuels and provides stable baseload of energy at relatively lower costs.
He noted that nuclear is one of the promising sources of energy considering the sharp advancement in modern technology, stable energy from nuclear is one of the most promising, the Senator stated.
Going by this, Boroffice noted that it would be suicidal for the country not to have laws in nuclear regulation before venturing into the industry as a high risk of the radioactive element will greet us.
He posited that after looking at the advantages offered by the nuclear, it is also important to review are the disadvantages of the unregulated sources, the lawmaker added.
He cited the scenario of Chernobyl in Russia cautioning the use of such dangerous element is highly risky considering its harmful effect when leaked or it's waste on the environment after a long period of time.
Meanwhile, in his opinion, Senator Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe (APC – Kwara Central) said, “the current legislation is not effective.”
The lawmaker noted that “it is critical and important to look at the 1995 Act to understand the deficiencies”, adding that contributions by stakeholders will enrich the bill.
After various debates, the bill was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Senate Committees on Science and Technology; and Petroleum Upstream to report back in four weeks.
