Nigeria to boost maritime security: official

LAGOS, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria is set to acquire strategic maritime safety and security assets, including vessels, a top official with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said here Saturday.

The move is also in line with the total spectrum of maritime security strategy, Dakuku Peterside, the agency's director general told reporters in Lagos, noting that this is in line with the recent approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in Abuja, Nigeria's capital.

Peterside announced the establishment of a Command and Control Center as part of the maritime security strategic initiative.

"The four components of the initiative are situational awareness, response capability, law enforcement and local partnerships and regional cooperation; which are the fulcrum upon which tackling maritime crime will be built on," he added.

According to him, the implementation of NIMASA's maritime strategy, in collaboration with the agency's partners, was a panacea to piracy and maritime crime within Nigerian territorial waters.

He assured that NIMASA would continue to collaborate with the military, especially the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force, among other partners, to make Nigerian waterways safe and secure.

The director-general told reporters that the agency would not relax in its quest to see the early passage of the Anti-Piracy Bill, the draft of which the Federal Executive Council recently approved for legislative action. Enditem