The Nigerian Navy has appealed for better collaboration and understanding from maritime stakeholders for effective prosecution of pirates and sea robbers.
The Operations Tactical Commander (OTC) in charge of the sea exercise `OBANGAME EXPRESS 2019’, Commodore Dickson Olisemenogor, made the appeal while speaking with journalists onboard Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) CENTENARY.
Olisemenogor said that for business to thrive in the maritime sector, the navy and relevant agencies must adopt a holistic approach to issues relating to crime in the sector.
According to him, the country stands to benefit in terms of revenue generation if all work toward achieving one goal.
He said that the sea exercise was largely successful because of the co-operation the navy received from other relevant agencies.
The OTC also disclosed that the sea exercise afforded officials of other agencies the opportunity to test their abilities to synergize and assimilate operations that led to arrest, investigate and collation of exhibits.
He said it also tested their abilities to share information that could aid successful prosecution of maritime offenders.
He noted that cooperation among government agencies was key in order to tackle the rising cases of smuggling of fire arms, drug, illegal fishing and human trafficking at sea.
He said that the navy had been able to achieve a lot in terms of human capacity development such as joint patrol, testing of exhibits samples, among others.
“The exercise has also fostered better understanding among the Gulf of Guinea nations with the open sea patrol and intelligence sharing,” he added.
The Commander, NNS CENTENARY, Navy Captain Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, said that exercise OBANGAME had so far brought together nations of the Gulf of Guinea and other foreign partners.
He added that the experience of staying at sea for a prolonged period also deter criminals from carrying out attack on merchant vessels coming to do business in the region.
The agencies that participated in the exercise included Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Fishery and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Others were Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Customs Service.
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