Air Force Joins War against Crude Oil Theft

In a bid to arrest the growing incidence of piracy and other illegalities in the Nigerian waters, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigeria Air Force (NAF).

Besides piracy, the Nigerian territorial waters have witnessed many illegalities in recent times. These include piracy, illegal bunkering, crude oil theft, as well as free entry and exit of unauthorised vessels into the Nigerian coastline.

The MoU, which seeks to define the scope of collaboration between the two government agencies, is coming on the heels of an earlier one with the Nigerian Navy.

Among other things, the MoU will give NIMASA an edge in the policing of the Nigeria territorial waters as NAF deploys aircrafts and other modern equipment to monitor the movement of vessels and other activities.

Speaking yesterday, at the formal signing of the MoU at Defence Headquarters, Abuja, the Director General of NIMASA, Mr. Ziakede Akpobolokemi, said the decision to collaborate with NAF was informed by the understanding that the agency cannot succeed in its mandate without a synergy with other government agencies, especially the military.

He explained that this was because by law, personnel of the agency were not allowed to carry arms even though they were dealing with criminals armed with sophisticated weapons.

“Nigeria Air Force has always been supportive of our efforts to deliver on our mandate, especially in curbing the activities of pirates in our waters. That is why we have come here today to sign this MoU to strengthen what we have already put in place to ensure that our waters are free from illegalities such as piracy, illegal bunkering, crude oil theft and other criminalities,” he said.

The NIMASA helmsman hailed NAF for what he called “their prompt response” in tackling incidence of criminal activities in Nigerian waters in recent times, even as he specifically mentioned an incident in which a ship captain and other crew members were rescued by men and officers of NAF, after a distress call from the Search and Rescue (SAR) Centre manned by officials of NIMASA.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Alex Badeh, in his response, said NAF would do everything possible to implement the provision of the MoU.

Badeh decried the spate of lawlessness in Nigeria territorial waters, pointing out that it was only in Nigeria that unauthorised river crafts have free entry and exit.

His words: “I am not aware of any country where ships sail in and take their resources without anybody challenging them. We need to put a stop to it by deploying the necessary personnel and equipment. With the signing of this MoU today, I can assure you that the days of illegalities in Nigerian waters are over.”.

The highpoint of the occasion was the signing of the MoU and appointment of Desk Officers in NAF and NIMASA that would oversee the execution of the MoU between the two bodies.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by top brass in the Air Force and NIMASA who immediately went into a close door session to rub minds on the nitty- gritty of the MoU.