UNODC Commends Nigeria’s Fight against Maritime Crime

By Michael Olugbode

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has commended the efforts of Nigeria’s government in the fight against maritime crime.

A statement that was released yesterday by the UNODC Communications Associate, Ms. Olivia Ogechi Okorondu, said that the government of Nigeria, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Navy need to be commended for their sustained efforts in the fight against maritime crime.

The commendation was given during the opening of a four-day Inter-Agency Expert Consultative Dialogue Session in Lagos, on the implementation plan of Nigeria’s draft National Maritime Strategy (NMS), which was organised with the support of the Danish government.

The statement said that the government of Nigeria had in 2015 inaugurated a committee made up of several maritime stakeholders within the public and private spheres to work on drafting a NMS.

The vision of the NMS is to support Nigeria’s economic prosperity, growth and development through the sustainable use of the nation’s maritime resources in a safe and secure environment.

The event, which was hosted in Lagos, aimed at providing a platform to undertake a proper articulation of the implementation framework and to obtain practical consensus on the institutional arrangement for the operationalisation of the NMS.

The Country Representative of the UNODC Nigeria, Mr. Oliver Stolpe, in his remarks yesterday during the opening ceremony noted that the first six-month report of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) for 2021 that was released in July showed that there has been an overall decline in reported incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, which was attributed to the sustained and collective efforts of the regional and international navies, regional organisations as well as national maritime security agencies.

Stolpe particularly commended the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure (INSWPI), which is also called the Deep Blue Project (DBP) being implemented by the NIMASA as well as the Nigerian Navy’s increased presence within the maritime domain.

He assured the government of Nigeria of UNODC’S continued commitment and support in the process of ensuring that the maritime security strategy is in place and operational.

In his opening remarks, the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Sune Krogstrup, stated that under the Danish Gulf of Guinea Maritime Security Programme, the Danish government is currently supporting programmes for longer-term institutional strengthening of maritime governance through intensified regional capabilities as well as capacities for maritime domain awareness and response.

He said that the development of national maritime strategies is key to long term maritime governance and noted that cost is reduced and economic development is enhanced wherever security is guaranteed.

The minister of Defence, who was represented by Director Airforce, Ministry of Defence, Mr. Utsu Peter Ashibel, stated that the maritime environment provided a critical pathway for international commerce and socio-economic interaction between many countries in the world.

He further stated that the maritime domain served as a gateway for the importation of goods into Nigeria and other landlocked countries in West Africa.

He re-emphasised the commitment of Nigeria and other Gulf of Guinea member states to improve safety and security in the region; adding that the DBP and the investment in the acquisition of more patrol vessels and aircraft for the Nigerian Navy were an attestation to this commitment on the part of Nigeria.

He expressed confidence that the Inter Agency Expert Consultative Dialogue Session would provide the deliberative platform for clear articulation process for an effective implementation plan for the draft NMS, identify areas of collaboration among relevant stakeholders and further enhance its implementation framework.

The draft National Maritime Strategy was concluded in 2019 and is currently awaiting approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The UNODC remained committed to support the strengthening of strategic approaches to maritime security in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.