The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, has emphasised community support and the creation of dedicated courts to effectively fight maritime crimes in Nigeria.
Ogalla stated this in Ibadan on Friday at the 3rd Distinguished Personality Lecture of the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies (IPSS), University of Ibadan (UI).
The CNS, highlighting the importance of the blue economy in Nigeria, said the country’s waterways provided vital access to 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states, connecting six neighbouring countries.
He identified non-diligent prosecution of maritime crimes, limited support from communities and limitations in radar coverage of some parts of the country as challenges of effective battle against maritime crimes.
Ogalla said the establishment of dedicated courts for maritime crimes would, therefore, lead to more effective and efficient justice delivery, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for law enforcement.
According to him, the perceived lack of enthusiasm among communities in supporting efforts to combat maritime crimes and promote the blue economy is of concern and requires urgent improvement.
He said, “In developing socio-economic crime prevention strategies, emphasis could be placed on enhancing skills to combat unemployment.
“Economic empowerment initiatives such as microfinance programmes, entrepreneurship support and social enterprise development can also help to reduce crime.”
The naval chief noted that the blue economy was crucial to the economic prosperity of Nigeria, particularly with its growing population and its global supply chain becoming increasingly integrated.
The Chairman of the occasion, Sen. Gbenga Daniel, called for inter-agency collaboration among the security agencies.
Daniel, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, was represented by retired Brig.-Gen. Olumuyiwa Okunlowo.
He said sharing information and intelligence would help to reduce the security challenges facing the country.
“This is our country and we don’t have anywhere to go.
“So, we should be able to commit ourselves and understand that we don’t have any other place – this ego something should go.
“We should be able to send information across to whoever needs to use it,” he said.
IPSS Director, Prof. Ruth Adio-Moses, says the institute is a strategic hub for knowledge creation and re-creation in cognate areas of peace, security and humanitarian studies.
She said the institute was, therefore, particularly concerned about the rise in maritime threats, such as oil theft, illegal fishing, piracy and trafficking of drugs and weapons in particular.
“These illicit activities not only undermine our national security but command the potential to stifle economic growth and development along our coasts.
“Hence, the invitation of the CNS to a ‘village square’ for insights capable of breaking the yoke of solutions we all crave for the sector,” Adio-Moses said. (NAN
