The Nigerian Navy will leverage technology and increased cooperation with other security agencies to tackle the emerging threat of illicit drugs and arms smuggling on the country's waterways, Abubakar Mustapha, flag officer commanding the Western Naval Command, said on Monday, September 21.
Mustapha, who represented Idi Abbas, the chief of naval staff, spoke at a four-day maritime security symposium in Lagos. Speaking with journalists at the event, Mustapha said Nigeria had maintained a zero-piracy level but was facing a growing threat from the smuggling of narcotics and firearms through the central Gulf of Guinea.
Navy Steps Up Vessel Screening and Technology Use
Mustapha said the Navy was strengthening its ability to identify and track vessels of interest, particularly those arriving from South America, while working with other agencies to conduct checks and forensic searches. He said maritime security was a layered issue requiring the involvement of several agencies, with the Navy and the CMTF playing a key role in identifying vessels that may be linked to illicit activities.
"Sometimes you can't be 100% sure, but once these vessels still go to the port, we go further and search them," he said. Mustapha cited the recent destruction of more than 560 kg of illicit drugs by the Navy in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other agencies as evidence of the security agencies' efforts to intercept narcotics entering Nigeria.
Combined Maritime Task Force and Regional Cooperation
According to him, the recent flag-off of the Combined Maritime Task Force (CMTF) by President Bola Tinubu showed that Africans are committed to coordinating the continent's maritime security threats. "The more we leverage technology and the more we cooperate, the more we operationalise the CMTF, the more we will be able to discontinue the smuggling of illicit drugs and illicit-related drugs into our continent in general," Mustapha said.
He said stronger cooperation, technology and the full operationalisation of the CMTF would improve the country's ability to disrupt maritime smuggling networks. The symposium, which began on Monday, was convened by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies and the William Perry Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies to discuss the operationalisation of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct.
25 Countries Meet in Lagos for Maritime Security Symposium
Mustapha spoke in Lagos at a four-day transatlantic maritime security symposium attended by naval officers from about 25 countries. Naval representatives from participating countries include those from Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Benin, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, and Colombia.
The Yaoundé Code of Conduct, adopted in 2013, provides a regional framework for West and Central African countries to combat piracy, armed robbery against ships and other illegal maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea. Mustapha said participants would also discuss protocols for operationalising the Yaoundé agreement and the CMTF.
Emerging Threats Beyond Piracy
The symposium comes as maritime security officials increasingly focus on threats beyond piracy, including drug trafficking, arms smuggling and other forms of transnational organised crime. Francis Edosa, an air vice marshal representing Olufemi Oluyede, chief of defence staff, said criminals often exploit the maritime domain for piracy, arms and narcotics trafficking. He said maritime threats did not respect national boundaries and therefore required cooperation among naval forces.
Assis Malaquias, academic dean at the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, said the symposium was aimed at bringing naval forces together to develop an architecture for implementing the Yaoundé Code of Conduct. He said participants would examine barriers to implementing the agreement and develop practical solutions to address them.
NNPC Sees CMTF Helping Curb Crude Oil Theft
Also speaking at the symposium, Dahiru Sani Gwarzo, chief interface officer at NNPC Ltd, said the petroleum company viewed the CMTF as an important mechanism for protecting Nigeria's oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Guinea. Gwarzo said NNPC Ltd was a major stakeholder in maritime security because of the criminal activities affecting vessels and crude oil operations in Nigerian waters.
"We see all the vessels carrying away our crude," Gwarzo said, adding that crude oil theft had been a persistent problem in previous years. He said information sharing between the CMTF and other government security and intelligence agencies had helped address the problem. "With the full operationalisation of CMTF, we believe that this crude oil theft will amount to zero, will come down to zero," Gwarzo said.
He said the formalisation of the CMTF by President Tinubu during the Nigerian Navy's 70th anniversary celebrations in June provided an opportunity for NNPC Ltd to better protect its resources and address security gaps in Nigerian waters. "The CMTF is a big, big help for us in NNPC," he said.
