The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of maritime; Mr. Musa Katsina has raised concern over what he called rising rate of stowaways on Nigeria waters, saying that the country's maritime domain remains porous.
Kastina made this known recently in Lagos during a working visit to the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council; Mr Hassan Bello.
Katsina, a former Commissioner of Police in Imo State recalled that on assumption of office, he discovered that there are certain crimes people term to be a normal way of life ,but added that issue of stowaway on the nation's waters especially in Lagos needs to be nipped in the bud.
He further revealed that investigations have shown that some of stowaways may have died in the process of attempting to travel out via ships and their remains thrown into the oceans.
The Police boss reiterated that issue of stowaway must not be handled with kids’ gloves, pointing out that the act of stowaway remains a potential danger to the maritime sector and the nation as a whole.
According to him, people that were caught due to stowaway activities have mastery of the act and can be used to perpetrate evil in the maritime space.
Katsina maintained that the process of such act can lead to drug trafficking, arms dealing, and attack on vessels on the high sea, kidnapping, hijack and hostage-taking activities.
He also noted that stowaways caught in previous attempts to travel out through the process are adamant and willing to embark on another voyage.
"On assumption of office, I decided to give a trial to find out how safe is our waterways and when I anchored my searchlight on Tin Can Island ports; we were confronted with a very disturbing phenomenon where group of young men plan, decide and with criminal intend to travel outside Nigeria without valuable document"
"They took off from the riverine community which is snake island in attend to execute the mission, the snatch a boat from a fisherman, paddle the boat to a Malaysia ship in the middle of the night and went in beside the propeller and conceal themselves in a little apartment with criminal intend to travel out of Nigeria"
Speaking further, he disclosed that a group of four men were arrested recently by the marine police and one of them was bleeding profusely as a result of a cut from the propeller in the process of trying to gain entrance into the ship.
He however added that the timely intervention of the Police aid the man's life; even as he added there might be some similar cases where such activities occurred resulting to death.
The AIG described the situation as double dilemma for the police force, saying that on the scale of priority, the police considered their prompt response as mission of rescue instead of arrest because life is paramount.
According to him, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council remains the pillar of all maritime agencies of the government and the police cannot perform effectively without seeking necessary support from the economic regulator of the ports.
The AIG maritime said police operations in the maritime industry has been extended to the Nigerian Navy,Customs and Immigration services with a view to working harmoniously together to ensure national peace and security in the sector.
"I am worried as a father and a grandfather that this has been a regular phenomenon in Nigeria and the irony and tragedy at worst is that most young men that engage in this criminal activities do consider the risk as a priority"
"What they consider first is the desire to accomplish certain desire either go and whatever they want and the risk factor for them remains secondary ",he added.
He described crime as opportunistic sin which occurs whenever there are loose ends or crack in the wall that gives room for such operations.
The top police officer said that the advantage of people that embark on stowaway defines the weakness in the security architecture of the maritime environment.
Katsina called for inter agencies collaboration in ensuring safety and security in the maritime sector, saying that the Shippers Council is the agency to first of all relate with based on its ombudsman role
Responding, the executive secretary , Barrister Hassan Bello saidthat the visit by the police boss was timely , noting that the agency is in a position to furnish the police with overall information and ideas about the industry.
Bello said that no agency can succeed without the support of other stakeholders even as he added that some of the functions of the Police involve safety and security of lives and properties.
He told his guest that the council is an ally for the sector growth ,saying that the Nigerian Shippers Council has offices in all the states of the federation.
Bello stated that as an economic regulator of the ports to ensure efficiency and competitiveness, there is the need to eliminate all forms of bottlenecks surrounding port operations by eliminating human contact.
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