Nigeria’s new Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Zubairu Gambo, claimed that some personnel of the Nigerian Navy are colluding with drug traffickers, bandits, kidnappers and economic saboteurs. He also warned that the persons colluding would be identified and sanctioned.
Namely, Mr. Gambo wants to improve established policies and measures to sanction the identified Nigerian Navy personnel during his tenure.
For this reason, he revealed his “vision and mission statements,” promising that there would be no tolerance for indiscipline and criminal activities.
What is more, he added that current policies and measures to sanction identified Nigerian Navy personnel that are collaborating with economic saboteurs, drug traffickers, barons, bandits, kidnappers and armed robbers, will be strengthened.
Furthermore, he warned personnel to avoid any act capable of damaging the image of the navy. As he noted, such acts would be met with heavy sanctions to act as deterrence to others.
On the other hand, Nigerian Navy personnel that exhibit high integrity and positive attributes will be rewarded handsomely.
All ongoing operations in the Nigerian Navy to check piracy, sea robbery, crude oil theft and illegal refining of petroleum products shall continue in earnest. We reject the ongoing incidents of piracy and sea robbery within Nigerian waters
Mr. Gambo said, adding that all operation commanders will sustain aggressive clearance operations to make suspected militants, cults and pirate camps non-conducive for any nefarious activities to thrive.
This statement comes at a time when total incidents in West Africa in 2020 showed a partial increase of 12% on those of 2019. Incidents involving failed approaches showed a significant increase within 2020 with 25 such incidents recorded against 10 in 2019.
In addition, IMB’s latest yearly piracy report recorded the highest ever number of crew kidnappings for the Gulf of Guinea in 2020, with 130 crew members taken in 22 separate incidents. 96.3% of kidnaps were in the region.
Earlier in February, pirates boarded the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier MV ROWAYTON EAGLE, while 200nm off the coast of Accra, Ghana, in the Gulf of Guinea.
