NIMASA gets special security gadgets to tackle piracy

The Federal Government has given Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) an approval to acquired special security gadgets to tackle maritime security, piracy and other crimes on the nation’s territorial waters.

Speaking at a recent courtesy visit by the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) in Lagos, the NIMASA Director-General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who was represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, said the agency just got approval for the importation of special gadgets, like walkie-talkie, cellular system and other specialized security items.

While speaking on community policing, he added: “You cannot address the issues of crime without the local people. Most of the crimes especially at sea start from the land to the sea. So you have to follow the criminals to the land before going to the sea and there is no better way of handling that issue and situation without the communities. When you have the brief of the community, you have the understanding of the community; you can be able to arrest that situation.

“Those are the things we have to deploy to the communities that can easily have access to us such as walkie-talkie, cellular system that can be used under water. So when things are going on they can be easily used to get our fast intervention vessels to come for assistance. This is how far we have gone on the issue of maritime security and piracy.”

As part of efforts to tackle piracy on the nation waters, he hinted that NIMASA in partnership with HLSI Security Systems and Technology contracted by the Federal Government to provide security on the nation’s territorial waters has commenced the training of Nigerian security personnels.

He explained: “You are aware that we contracted HLSL to come and look at the security domain of our own water. We just concluded training of our staff and the joint agencies that are suppose to take care of the policing including the Police, Army, Navy DSS as well as Civil Defence. Before the HLSL take up fully, we have six fast intervention vessels approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) that we use to patrol the waterways on a daily basis as well as other technology we have deployed.”