Nigerian Customs, Navy join forces to secure territorial waters against smugglers
The Nigeria Customs Service has embarked on a deeper collaboration with the Nigerian Navy to enhance their presence in Nigeria’s territorial waters and combat smuggling activities.
The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, paid a visit to the Naval Dockyard in Lagos on Thursday, 16th November 2023, emphasizing the Navy’s capacity and expertise in maintaining the NCS fleet of vessels.
He expressed, “We don’t need to establish a vessel maintenance unit; it’s capital intensive, but we have an agency of government that has the knowledge, that has the capacity and there’s the willingness for them to assist us.”
Stressing the need to fortify their presence in Nigeria’s coastal waters, the CGC highlighted the importance of reducing smuggling activities through enhanced maritime security.
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“If we block the land borders effectively and do not maintain a very strong presence on our territorial waters, smugglers will take advantage, so we also need to fortify and enhance our presence to checkmate those who may want to try smuggling through our waters,” he conveyed.
Rear Admiral Abolaji Orederu, the MD/CEO of Naval Dockyard Ltd., echoed the potential of the Naval Dockyard in vessel maintenance, repairs, and shipbuilding.
“Naval dockyard is well poised to take advantage of situations like this, and we see the Nigeria Customs Service as a powerful ally of the Nigerian Navy,” he affirmed.
He further emphasized the capacity of the Naval Dockyard to support other agencies and the larger maritime community, emphasizing their readiness to collaborate with the NCS to manage the maintenance of their fleets.