By Steve Agbota
Security analysts have urged the Federal Government to tread carefully with its proposed creation of a Nigerian Coast Guard, cautioning that without a well-defined mandate and strategic alignment with existing security agencies, the move could complicate maritime governance and undermine national security coordination.
The new security architecture for the maritime sector, already facing rejection in certain quarters, was first initiated in 2021, to complement the existing security arrangement.
After rigorous debates at the National Assembly, some lawmakers, security experts and civil society groups opposed the Bill as they rightly pointed out that creating the Coast Guard would duplicate the functions of the existing security outfits.
Opponents of the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard have argued that the initiative would further complicate existing challenges in the maritime domain, potentially triggering security lapses and institutional overlap. The bill, initially introduced to establish the new outfit, faced strong resistance from stakeholders who described it as both unnecessary and constitutionally questionable, leading to its withdrawal at the time.
Despite earlier setbacks, the push for the establishment of a coast guard resurfaced on December 5, 2024, during a public hearing at the National Assembly on the Nigerian Coast Guard (Establishment) Bill 2024. The revived bill, now championed by Senator Wasiu Eshinlokun (APC-Lagos), has already passed its second reading in the Senate as of October 2024. That December, the Senate Committee on Marine Transport convened a session to solicit input from maritime stakeholders.
Nonetheless, civil society groups and maritime activists have continued to protest the bill, staging demonstrations at the National Assembly and labelling the proposal a redundant and costly duplication of existing security frameworks in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
A central point of contention surrounding the Nigerian Coast Guard Bill is its perceived duplication of the Nigerian Navy’s constitutional mandate. The Navy—widely respected for its effective maritime security operations both locally and internationally—has consistently opposed the proposal, warning that it would lead to jurisdictional overlap, fragmented command structures, and counterproductive competition for limited resources.
During the recent public hearing, senior naval officers reiterated these concerns, stressing that the creation of a parallel agency would undermine operational coherence and weaken the country’s maritime security posture.
As momentum behind the bill resurfaces, security experts and maritime stakeholders have urged the Federal Government to reconsider, arguing that the bill does little to address core challenges in the sector. Instead of establishing another security outfit, they recommend strengthening and adequately funding existing agencies to enhance coordination, intelligence-sharing, and overall maritime governance.
Speaking with Daily Sun, Gbenga Leke Oyewole, a seasoned maritime security expert and former Senior Special Assistant on Maritime Services to ex-President Goodluck, said If the government create any coast guard outfit in Nigeria, there is simply going to complicate the woes in the maritime domain.
He said he agreed with the people who suggested that there is no need for the creation of a Coast Guard.
“The reason is very simple. Currently, we have in the maritime domain, we have the Navy, we have the Customs, we have the Marine Police, we have NIMASA, we have all sorts of agencies working in the domain. I bet you that you will not even now be able to point to two of them that are working together,” he said.
According to him, the role contemplated for the Coast Guard is a role already taken by the Navy and by the Marine Police.
He explained that the Marine Police work in the brown waters while the Navy is supposed to be in the blue waters, adding that both the brown and the blue waters are currently taken over by the Navy.
“A story I will never forget is what happened some time ago when I was newly appointed as the Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan on Maritime Services. I came to Lagos, I was staying in a hotel on Awolowo Road. In the room they put me in, I overlooked the water behind that police station. I looked down from the room and I saw a lot of patrol boats by the police station there.
“I quickly put on my clothes and went downstairs. On getting to the police station, I asked for the DPO in charge. And I asked him, who are the owners of these boats? He said they belong to the police and were bought for them by NNPC. At that time, as of 2011, the rate of piracy in our waters already left the high seas. The robbery at the port has become a menace that even vessels discharging at the port will be robbed by these miscreants. I said, do you hear of these things? They said, yes.
“How can you tie this number of boats here and none of them, even at the anchorage taking care of vessels there? They said they would not go there. I said, why? They said the last time they went there, the Navy shot at them, that their man was still in the hospital. I was like, how are we running a country like this? I got to Abuja, I went to the IG’s office straight away. IG, I need these boats to patrol, even if it is because they can’t go to the high sea like that. And going to the high sea would be something else because that’s where the Navy was supposed to be. You know, I wanted to get things done.
“The IG said he wasn’t going to release the boats. Out of anger, I went to the president. When the president saw the way I was talking, he said, have you been to the IG? I said, yes. He said okay and that I should have told him first before going to the IG. He said, but there’s a way around it. So he taught me what to do, and we began to do things, and we repressed piracy significantly in Nigeria between 2011 and 2015. We got a lot of accolades at the United Nations because we did not only repress in Nigeria, we repressed piracy in Benin Republic, to the admiration of the United Nations,” he explained.
Commenting on the proposed Coast Guard, he emphasised that the government’s immediate priority should be to strengthen existing agencies, particularly the Nigeria Customs Service, by ensuring they effectively carry out critical responsibilities such as ship rummaging and intercepting contraband. He stressed the need to curb the influx of illicit drugs, arms, and human trafficking through improved border and maritime control.
He also highlighted the importance of clearly delineating the roles of the police and the Navy within Nigeria’s maritime domain. According to him, a coordinating mechanism is needed to ensure the police focus on law enforcement within brown waters, rivers, creeks, and coastal areas, while the Navy continues to safeguard the nation’s territorial integrity in the blue waters offshore.
“Because you’ll find out that the Navy is taking over even around the ports, watching over every STS that is conducted at the anchorage. The police only see people who carry kegs or are taking kegs, too. These are all aberrations. If we complicate the situation further by establishing a Coast Guard, it will not work well.
“It will not be in the interest of Nigeria. We would have made life more complex for maritime operators, even vessels that come to Nigeria because everybody oversteps their mandates and begins to do another person’s work. So we’ll just simply create another rivalry. I agree that there shouldn’t be a Coast Guard. The Navy will not even agree. Even if you like, form it within the Navy, they still will oppose it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Eugene Nweke, Head Researcher at the Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC), said that the creation of a Nigeria Coast Guard may overlap and duplicate the mandates of other maritime agencies.
According to him, though the maritime space could benefit from a coast guard that specialises in coastal security and law enforcement, it was imperative to address concerns about duplication of functions and cost implications and ensure effective coordination with existing agencies.
“SEREC recommends that the proposed bill for the creation of a Nigeria Coast Guard be stepped down for now. We recommend the conduct of a thorough analysis of the proposed Coast Guard Bill and stakeholder engagement to define the Coast Guard’s roles and responsibilities clearly to avoid overlap with other agencies,” he added.
He advised that experts should consider national interest above pecuniary or group interest.
Nweke also highlighted the complexity of the Nigerian maritime domain with multiple agencies operating within it.
He said that the Nigerian Navy had the primary responsibility of maritime security, defence, protection and enforcement of maritime laws.
He added that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Nigeria Police Marine Unit, and Nigeria Customs Marine Unit were responsible for regulating maritime safety and security.
He pointed out that with the activities of especially the Nigerian Navy, the creation of a coast guard would bring redundancies, wastage of limited national resources and inefficiencies.
He recommended adequate funding for the Nigerian Navy to enhance its capabilities instead of establishing a new agency.
“This will ensure that the Navy effectively performs its roles, as overlapping roles between the Coast Guard and Nigerian Navy could lead to conflicts and inefficiencies.
“Setting up a coast guard will require significant investment in infrastructure, equipment, and personnel, which can be challenging given the current economic climate,” Nweke added.