The Chief of the Naval Staff , Vice Adm. Ibok-Ete Ibas, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU), with the heads of the Navies of the Republics of Benin, Togo and the Higher Commander of the Gendarmerie of Niger Republic for the implementation of Joint patrol of the Maritime Zone “E”.
Commodore Ayo Olugbode, the Director of Information for the Nigerian Navy, disclosed this in a statement last weekend in Abuja.
Olugbode said that the MOU was signed during the meeting of the Chiefs of the Naval Staff of the ECOWAS Zone ‘E’ and Higher Commander of the Gendarmerie of Niger at HQ of Multinational Maritime Coordinating Centre, Cotonou, Benin Republic.
He said: “The Memorandum is to revisit amongst others, the 2011 and 2012 Resolutions of the United Nations Security Council on the suppression of acts of piracy attacks against shipping and other illegalities at Sea.
” The 8 page – document which is divided into 11 Articles, established cooperation for Joint Maritime Patrol through the pooling together of both material and human resources to enhance the security of the maritime area of the ECOWAS Zone E countries, consisting of Benin, Niger, Nigeria and Togo,” Olugbode said.
He added that the Maritime area of ECOWAS Zone’ E’ which consists of international and territorial waters under the respective jurisdiction of the states of Benin, Nigeria and Togo is coordinated by the Multinational Maritime Coordinating Centre in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The statement quoted Ibas as saying that the agreement was in furtherance of the vision of Heads of Government of the Zone E countries to secure their common sea area for the blue economy to thrive.
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