SOMALI PIRATES TERRORISING NIGERIAN WATERS
“The information and intelligence hub of the Deep Blue Project, the Command, Control, Communication, Computer, and Intelligence Centre (C4i), was commissioned in August last year. The Centre is up and running with round-the-clock production of needed maritime domain awareness. The C4i has helped to identify and monitor activities in the black spots, leading to arrests of many suspects in recent times.”
Dr Jamoh, a graduate of the Korea Maritime and Ocean University, said the training of personnel for the Deep Blue Project had commenced and would be concluded this month, ahead of the deployment of the assets by December.
The Director-General also said investigation had revealed that Somali pirates were now active in Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea. He said the pirates often navigated through Nigeria’s maritime boundaries, and sometimes came through the land borders. He stated that the Maritime Intelligence Unit, recently established by NIMASA to help nip maritime crimes in the bud through identification of early warning signs, had revealed a relationship between crimes in the Nigerian maritime domain and the Somali pirates.
“We discovered a correlation between crimes in our waters and the activities of the Somali pirates,” he stated, adding,
“They have a means of navigating from the coast of Somalia to Nigeria, through the waters of our West African neighbours. In some cases, they enter through the land borders and commission boats to carry out their activities,” the NIMASA DG added.
He said Nigeria has developed an action plan to monitor the progress of its National Maritime Security Strategy, saying,
“Our goal is to achieve a sustainable end to criminal attacks in our territorial waters.”
Jamoh called for South Korean and Belgian investments in the Nigerian maritime industry, particularly in the areas of wreck removal and shipbuilding, as well as assistance in the training and certification of Nigerian seafarers.
Haenggu and Bertrand, in their separate submissions, pledged their determination to improve ties between their respective countries and Nigeria in shipping development and maritime security. Haenggu hailed the “strong working relationship” between the Korean Embassy and NIMASA, saying he looks forward to continuing with it. And Bertrand said his priority was to promote commerce between his country and Nigeria.
