By Meletus EZE
The Nigerian Navy in Lagos on Thursday reiterated its commitment to secure the maritime domain and warned criminals to steer clear of the nation’s waterways or face the wrath of the law.
The Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Adm. Habila Ngalabak, gave the warning while speaking with newsmen after a tour and inspection of facilities and ships within the command.
The FOC, while warning the criminals, assured Nigerians, most especially maritime stakeholders that there was naval presence at sea every day to ensure safety and legal flow of maritime businesses.
“There is a great improvement on the waterways because we make sure we have a ship at the high sea every single day. Also along the channel, we have two to three boats patrolling.
“We are sure that anybody out there that wants to perform any form of criminality will not find it easy because we are there.
“We therefore warn all criminals to desist from the waterways or face the wrath of the law,’’ the FOC warned.
On the assessment of the facilities, Ngalabak said there had been a great improvement, adding that these would enable the ships to continue to be effectively utilised at sea.
“My assessment of the facilities in the base shows that there is a lot of improvement, which is very good.
“A lot of facilities have been improved upon, making it possible for the ships to be used effectively for service.
“The construction at the jetty is almost at the concluding part, which will make our ships have better facilities for anchorage,’’ he said.
The FOC also thanked the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Ibok Ibas and President Muhammadu Buhari for their unflinching support to the Navy and the military as a whole.
Other facilities that were inspected were the Jetty, Detention Quarters, armoury, slipway, the Regional Maritime Awareness Capability (RMAC) and the ships at the Naval Dockyard Ltd.
