NIMASA DG Assures IGP of Support in Combating Maritime Crimes
Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh has assured the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba of support and strengthened partnership in the fight against maritime crime.
Jamoh at a meeting with the police IG in Abuja recently promised to extend the ongoing collaboration NIMASA is having with other security agencies under the deep blue project to the marine unit of the police in areas of capacity building and provision of patrol support.
While both parties acknowledged the reduction in piracy attacks in the blue waters, which is also confirmed by notable international bodies, including the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and International Maritime Bureau (IMB), they identified the need for enhanced policing of the nation’s brown waters.
“NIMASA is seeking close integration and collaboration of the Nigerian Marine Police into our recently launched waterways security architecture, Deep Blue Project, to achieve an all-encompassing outcome stretching from the blue waters where we already have the Nigerian Navy’s presence to the brown waters near the anchorage areas where the Nigerian Police statutorily have a role to stem the tide of insecurity and checkmate criminal activities against berthing ships and seafarers,” Jamoh emphasised.
DG NIMASA tasked all partiesTO maximise the use of technology in monitoring the waters, He also commended the ongoing integration of NIMASA’s Command, Control Computer Communication and Information System (C4i) located at the NIMASA Resource Centre in Kirikiri with the Falcon Eye of Nigerian Navy and Nigeria Police’s i247 for easy coordination and intelligence sharing.
The IGP lauded NIMASA’s efforts under its present management and reiterated the resolve of the force to fight crimes all over the country, including in the territorial waters.
IGP described the Marine Police as a very important arm of the force considering the strategic importance of the waters to the economic and social well-being of the country.
The meeting had in attendance other senior police officers including Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Garba Umar, who is Head of National Central Bureau of Interpol in Nigeria and was recently elected Vice President of Interpol for Africa.
