The newly acquired assets include two unmanned aircraft
systems, nine interceptor patrol boats and 10 armoured vehicles, and they would
add to the existing assets earlier procured by the Federal Government and
commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Bashir Jamoh, director-general of NIMASA, while thanking
President Buhari for sustained support in the fight against sea piracy and
other maritime crimes, said the additional equipment will improve on the gains
recorded in securing the Gulf of Guinea and Nigerian maritime domain.
Jamoh, who described the recently held Gulf of Guinea
Maritime Collaboration Forum (GOG-MCF/SHADE) in Abuja as a success in rallying
international support in the suppression of maritime insecurity, said Nigeria’s
commitment in regional maritime security will always be sustained.
He recommended the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime
Offences (SPOMO) Act emplaced by Nigeria as a robust statute that supports
maritime law enforcement which other countries are considering to replicate.
“Nigeria is improving on her capacity to fight maritime
crime by procuring state of the art technology, upgrading human capacity for
effective service delivery and deployment of the assets for round the clock
patrol, interdiction and reconnaissance with the support of Nigerian Navy and
other security agencies we signed MoU,” he said.
According to him, the newly procured assets would assist
NIMASA in building on the gains already recorded in the fight against piracy,
sea robbery, oil theft, kidnapping, illegal fishing activities and others.