THE Nigerian Navy will collaborate with the U.S. Office of Security Cooperation (OSC) to address illegal activities in
the Gulf of Guinea.
A statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore Kabir Aliyu, stated that the two countries would hold an international conference on the matter.
According to the statement, event, the first Gulf of Guinea Regional Maritime Awareness Capability Conference, will hold from July 29 to July 31 in Calabar. It said that due to the expanded economic activities in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), there had been renewed interest in the region.
“This maritime environment has been encumbered by various illegal maritime activities amongst which are piracy, bunkering, crude oil theft and illegal fishing. “The objective of the conference is to bring to the fore, the necessity of improving maritime domain awareness of the Gulf of Guinea. `It will also stress the need for member states to collaborate in terms of information sharing and intelligence for effective monitoring of the environment.
“It is to be noted that the U. S. has assisted many African states to establish coastal surveillance stations, but these countries do not share information obtained from the field. “Hence the need for collaboration and co-operation among the member states to solve the problem,” the statement stated.
The theme of the conference, according to the statement is “Regional Maritime Awareness Capability Systems: A Key for Enhancing Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea”.
The Minister of State for Defence, Mrs Olusola Obada, will be the special guest of honour, while her counterparts in Transport and Justice Ministries are expected to grace the occasion.
The statement listed other dignitaries expected at the conference to include the Nigeria Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, and his counterparts from Ghana. Dignitaries will also come from Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Republic of Benin, Senegal, Togo, Gabon, Cameroun and Sao Tome and Principe. The statement added that the Commanders of U.S. African Command and the U.S. Naval Forces Africa will present papers at the conference. The Director-General of NIMASA, Mr Ziakede Akpobolokemi, according to the statement will also present a paper at the forum.