The Nigerian Navy said the incidences of piracy within the Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea has reduced considerably.
The outgoing Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command Rear Admiral Jason Gbassa who gave the revelation yesterday said the reduction was as result of the continued presence of naval operatives at sea on policing duties.
According to Admiral Gbassa who spoke during his farewell parade, to curb the incidences of piracy, the Western Naval Command under his watch, initiated series of operations to combat the menace of piracy, illegal oil bunkering, drug trafficking and other related crimes within the Command’s Area of Responsibility.
He explained that, “we conducted EX OMI MIMO (CLEAR WATER) to enhance the security of the Command’s maritime domain, EX OLUSO, a harbor defence exercise aimed at working up the ships and Operation OKUN ALAFIA to consolidate the gains of enhanced security in the Nations Maritime Environment and maintain credible presence at sea with over 7,000hoursof patrols amongst others.”
He said that the reduction in the incidences of piracy was as a result of the cumulative effort of the command’s operatives adding that, the Command recording the lowest number of incidences of pirate attacks and sea robbery in the last 28 years and by extension, the Nigerian Maritime Domain and the Gulf of Guinea in general as attested to by the International Maritime Bureau Report of 2021.
“Further to this, the Command arrested several high-profile vessels and persons involved in drug trafficking. Specifically, the arrest of MV CHAYENEE NAREE and MT KARTERIA conveying cocaine from Brazil to Nigeria and thereby effectively disrupted the international illegal trade on the route. Also, working in partnership with the Nigerian Port Authority, we mid-wife the transition from the Secured Anchorage Area to the Lagos Anchorage Area in compliance with a Federal Government directive aimed at enhancing the Ease of Doing Business in our Country.”
Similarly, the FOC said under, Joint Task Force (JTF) OPERATION AWATSE, we emplaced a series of measures that led to the arrest and disruption of activities of various notorious pipeline vandals particularly of those operating at Baruwa Area of Alimosho LGA of Lagos.
The seizure, on 12 August 2021, of 4 tanker trucks and subsequent trailing and arrest of some of the kingpins, “Effectively restored sanity to the hitherto criminal hotspot. It is heartwarming that, Op AWATSE conducted a total of 1,126 patrols leading to the arrest of 74 persons, recovery of 178,650 litres of stolen Premium Motor Spirit which were decanted to NNPC storage facility and 29 vehicles and other equipment valued at over N500 million,” he noted.
Admiral Gbassa said majority of the seized vehicles have been handed over to the NSCDC in line with the Standard Operating Procedure, for prosecution, pointing out that “it is pertinent to state that these efforts ensured unhindered flow of petroleum products on the System 2B pipeline and availability of products to the populace.
By Philip Nwosu
The SUN
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