FG commends Navy, NIMASA as Nigeria records zero pirates attack in five months

The Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki has commended the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for the successes recorded in combating the menace of piracy and sea robbery on the nation’s territorial waters.

Saraki who gave the commendation while delivering a keynote address during the 2022 World Hydrography Day celebration in Lagos on Tuesday said Nigeria recorded zero attack in the first five months of the year, a feat she said has been duly acknowledged by the International Maritime Bureau.

The Minister therefore called for continued collaboration among maritime security agencies to sustain the decline in pirates’ attacks.

“Today we are talking about hydrography. Let’s talk about the Navy for a minute. As we are in a celebratory mood, let me seize this opportunity to celebrate the success of our nation in combating piracy and crimes at sea in the Gulf of Guinea and our own territorial waters.

“Today marks five months of zero attack. This is the first time in 28 years that there has been no attack. This is a feat being duly recognized by the International Maritime Bureau. I therefore congratulate the Federal Government, The Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Navy and of course, NIMASA on this remarkable achievement. I hope that the collaboration between that made this possible will continue.

“This celebration of Hydrography Day is as much about the work and responsibilities of our Navy as it is about the geographical landscape of our waters. For a nation like ours, with 853 Kilometers of coastline, hydrography is both an economic and a national security issue,” she said.

Director General, NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, attributed the decline of piracy on Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea to the collaborative efforts of NIMASA, Nigerian Navy and various security agencies in information sharing.

Jamoh, specifically commended the navy, which he said has remained constant in the fight against piracy on the nation’s waters.

“For us to have gotten to this level, there is a lot of underground work which we have put in place both at NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy. What we did was to see how we can synergize among ourselves. NIMASA cannot have information and decided to keep it to themselves. So, we reach out to the various security agencies and ensure that we share information.

“But I will always appreciate the Navy because to fight crime, you must have sincerity of purpose. The leadership of the navy has remained constant in terms of fighting this menace.

“You can recollect that sometimes in December 2020, we were recording about six attacks in a week and an average of one attack per day. At that time, the government decided to close the issue of private security, which we call a secure anchorage area.

“After the contract was cancelled and both the Navy and NIMASA took over the security of our waterways as directed by the Presidency, we have continued to see serious decline from one attack per day to one attack per month and zero attack per month.

“By second quarter of 2021, we hit a 20 year record of improvement in our waterways and by the third and fourth quarter, we have continued to maintain the tempo. By March 2022, the International Maritime Bureau removed Nigeria from the piracy list,” he said.