Temisan Omatseye, the former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has encouraged the agency to work with security agencies’ intelligence units and prioritize intelligence collecting in order to resist frequent attacks on ships at anchorage.
This was his response to growing alarm among maritime stakeholders, who bemoaned criminals’ audacious and horrific attacks on their vessels, particularly while they were berthed and anchored in Nigerian seas.
Omatseye said, “Usually, whenever there are attacks on ships at anchorages, most times, those attacks are from criminals in communities around those anchorages. And one of the ways to tackle and win them once and for all is for a collaboration to take place between NIMASA, and intelligence units of the Department of State Security, the Navy, and the Nigerian Army.
“Whatever intelligence these security agencies gather would now be submitted to NIMASA which would definitely inform their decision on that challenge. The intelligence would enhance an absolute victory over the criminals,” he added
NIMASA should also involve whistleblowers in the areas where ships are anchored, according to Omatseye. He encouraged NIMASA to compensate “trusted residents” who could provide accurate information about criminals and criminal hideouts in their neighborhoods.
He said “These would serve as whistleblowers to also aid intelligence gathering. Without a doubt, some of these dwellers know who the criminals are. Hence, they would aid successful security operations of the collaborated security agencies.”
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