Minister of transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has restated the Federal Government’s commitment towards ridding the Nigerian territorial waters of criminality through the Integrated Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also known as the Deep Blue Project.
Amaechi said this last week in Lagos at the graduation ceremony for participants of the C4I Intelligence System Operator Course for the Deep Blue Project.
According to Amaechi, Nigeria’s 853km long coastline and her location in the Gulf of Guinea made it strategic for both maritime activities and inherent security issues such as piracy, oil theft, sea robbery, and other crimes.
Amaechi, who was represented by director, Maritime Safety and Security, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dajuma Dauda, said the project was a conscious effort towards addressing illegality on our territorial waters and, indeed, the Gulf of Guinea.
Dakuku Peterside, director-general, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said the project would drastically reduce criminality in the region.
“What we are doing is fulfilling the training aspect of the project and this will also be complemented by acquisition of assets, such as fast intervention vessels, surveillance aircraft, and other facilities, including a command and control centre for data collection and information sharing that will aid our goals of targeted enforcement,” Peterside said.
The project is geared towards building a formidable integrated surveillance and security architecture that will comprehensively combat maritime crime in Nigeria’s waterways up to the Gulf of Guinea, he said.
Tthe Agency, in collaboration with the National Assembly, is also taking steps to ensure that the Anti-piracy Bill is passed soon, he disclosed.
In his remarks, Abdul Razaq Lawal Mohammed, the best graduating student among the 21 course participants, said the course exposed participants to security challenges being faced in the region and also open their minds to the possible solutions. He promised to bring his experience to bear in efforts to making the Nigerian maritime space safe for investment.
Certificates were presented to the successful participants, who were drawn from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police, DSS, and NIMASA.
NIMASA had earlier in the year graduated 24 C4i system operators and also, recently, 300 officers of the Nigerian Army who were trained on the Basic Infantry Course, all under the Deep Blue Project. The Intelligence System Operator Course, with 21 graduates, is an aspect of the training that focuses on intelligence, data gathering, and information sharing towards a targeted enforcement approach.
Deep Blue Project provides both land and air based surveillance capabilities with command and control centres located across the country for data gathering and information sharing.
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