The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Avwwal zubairu Gambo has signed up the coming together of the Nigerian Navy, European Union and the ECOWAS to strengthen and corporate together in bringing on a strong and tightened security in the Maritime Industry especially as it relates to the Gulf of Guinea.
According to the duo said the main aim of the coming together is to strengthen the ties between Nigeria and the European Union in the maritime domain and also foster lasting partnership.
In his speech, Admiral Gambo explained that the sea remains the most veritable means of transportation that nations, individuals and groups have exploited therefore it is worthy to note that safety must be achieve during transverse . Hence, the Nigeria – European Union collaborative effort on maritime security is germane.
“Working togetner is Sine qua non in the zeal to defend the seas to enhance maritime security, and safety is needed
to promote international trade, protect the environment and guarantee use of the Sea for legitimate businesses.”
He stated that the cordial relationship between Nigeria and the European
Union led to the deployment of Italian Navy Ship RIZZO and Spanish Navy ship SERVIOLA on maritime security patrol mission in the Gulf of Guinea.
“A fall out of this is the port call by the 2 European Naval Warships which heralds the organisation of today’s event
No doubt that this kind of interaction would further strengthen the bilateral relations between Nigeria and the European Union and indeed Italy and Spain. Hence, the port call by Italia Navy Ship RIZZO and Spanish Navy Ship SERVIOLA as well as hosting of this high profile event is a welcome development.
However, recently, the Spanish Navy Ship MV VIGIA was in Nigeria to collaborate with Nigeria in its efforts towards a secured maritime environment. And he hoped that the continued collaboration would improve operational Coordination
information sharing as well as joint training and capacity building exercises that is desired enhance maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Rear Adm Saidu Garba, the Chief Policy and Plans added that the coming together is at a time the nation is committed to the sustainable development of her blue economy.
He stated that a secured maritime
environment is a contributing factor to the economic prosperity of nations the
world over.
“The struggle against maritime insecurity is a collaborative effort that no single country or region can tackle alone. Meanwhile, ECOWAS in conjunction with the Economic Community of Central African States formulated the Yaoundé Code of Conduct as a foundation for broad based regional maritime security along the entire Gulf of Guinea. He stated also that the security partnership goes beyond Africa, embracing the European Union and other key international players geographically outside the Gulf of Guinea because the Gulf of Guinea is of global importance as a crucial maritime route. Therefore, effort to continue to secure the maritime space,
especially the Gulf of Guinea is crucial to the Regional Navies and international
players.
The Gulf of Guinea itself is a vast and diverse region stretching from
Senegal to Angola covering approximately 2,874nm of coastline. It is an
important shipping zone transporting oil and gas as well as goods to and from
Africa and the rest of the world. On any one day there are about 1500 tankers,
cargo ships and fishing vessels navigating its waters.
Regrettably, piracy, armed robbery at sea, kidnapping of seafarers,
illegal unreported and unregulated fishing, smuggling, trafficking and
transnational organized crimes pose a major threat to maritime security in the
Gulf of Guinea. Maritime insecurity has long been one of the most persistent
and intractable threats to maritime communities and economic prosperity in
West Africa. Importantly, concerted efforts in form of synergy should be
maintained to curb these maritime crimes.
He also state that the commitment of the
Nigerian Navy towards maritime security has yielded dividends. A lot has been
achieved by the Nigerian Navy in the safeguard of the Gulf of Guinea. Notable
among them is the arrest of 10 pirates whose jail terms were secured for
hijacking a Chinese fishing vessel, FV HAI LU FENG II off Cote D’Ivoire in
May 2020.
The crime committed violated Section 3 of the Suppression of
Piracy and other Maritime Offences Act 2019, punishable under Section 2 of
the same Act. Nigeria has continued to record successes in the anti-piracy war
as activities of pirates in the Gulf of Guinea have reached an all-time low in
more than a decade.
Following the significant success occasioned by the
Nigerian Navy’s increased maritime security operations against maritime
criminalities in collaboration with other agencies, the International Maritime
Bureau has exited Nigeria from its Piracy List. Nigeria has collaborated with
other Gulf of Guinea navies to address the maritime security situation in the
Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria has a robust and professional navy with historic
tradition.
Furthermore, the Nigerian Navy has continuously acquired new assets and has
further improved its capabilities to maintain a large fleet and to operate far
beyond its territorial waters. The state of the art Maritime Domain Awareness
facilities comprising; the Falcon Eye and the Regional Maritime Awareness
Capability Centres allow the Nigerian Navy to monitor its territorial waters and
beyond.
The Rear Admiral also welcomes the RIZZO and the Spanish Navy Ship SERVIOLA as well as the Italian and Spanish governments for the participatory approach in conducting maritime exercise
with regional navies in the Gulf of Guinea in order to mitigate maritime crimes.
The 2 naval ships are currently on port call to Lagos to run ashore as well as
for replenishment of required logistics for further operations and voyage.
“I must reiterate that this is among series of port calls on Nigeria by international
navies. I must also, applaud the Federal Government of Nigeria’s commitment
and decisive initiative on the Deep Blue Project through which the Nigerian
Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police and intelligence services are poised to tackle
the menace of maritime insecurity in the waterways.
At this juncture, I commend the European Union (EU) for your
fundamental support and partnership in operationalizing the Yaoundé Code of
Conduct through diverse programmes and initiatives towards capacity
development in the Gulf of Guinea.
Nigeria has also actively partnered with the EU and other African countries in the optimization of the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum – Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) as well as
Yaoundé Architecture Regional Information Syster (YARIS) where already some Nigerian Navy personnel are undergoing trainin on the system. Nigerian Navy and indeed Nigeria appreciates the
coordinated maritime presence which compliments other maritime security
programmes and projects in the Gulf of Guinea.
In this regards, the Nigeria Navy calls for enhanced collaboration with EU and coastal states within the amework of the Yaoundé Architecture on information sharing in order to bridge the apparent existing communication gap.
Also speaking, the EU Senior Coordinator for Gulf of Guniea, Mr Nicolas Berlanga emphasised, collaborating with the Nigerian Navy would help protect our freedom of investment and improve economic development.
“It is good that we coordinate internally better and engage strategically with the Nigerian Navy. “We will work together and offer our partnership to the Nigerian Navy for continued strengthening of security at the Gulf of Guniea.
“This is important and will be of benefit because freedom of navigation and investment of economic activities is also our freedom,” Berlanga said.
