The Nigerian Navy Monday said it has deployed eight of its warships and two fighter jets to tackle cases of insecurity around the country’s territorial waters.
It said the deployment was part of a 30-days sea Operation tagged, Okun Alaafia ii, a Yoruba word for ‘Calm Waters 11’, which it said was aimed at checking illegalities around the country’s backwaters.
The Fleet Commander Western Naval Command, who is also the exercise Operations Tactical Commander (OTC), Rear Admiral Tanjuma Moses, while addressing defense correspondents in Lagos, said since the operation started about eleven days ago, two ships, as well as four suspects were arrested for alleged involvement in petroleum products theft along Lagos waters.
Admiral Moses gave the names of the ships arrested as MV Mother Comfort and MV Sea Supply, adding that as the time the two ships were nabbed, they were laden with 240 metric tonnes and 80 metric tonnes of Diesel respectively.
He said “The operation was flagged off by the Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command on Friday, July 24 2020 in the course of carrying out statutory responsibility of protecting the nation’s maritime domain in Western Naval Command Area of Responsibility.
“This was done in order to sustain the gains of previous Operations and Exercises which the Command has conducted in the past.
The Nigerian Navy Dockyard in Victoria Island. Commissioned in 1990 to equip the Nigerian Navy with the required technical capability to carry out major repairs and refits of ships locally. It is one of the biggest Naval Dockyard in Africa.
“In the last eleven days, officers of the Command intercepted and interrogated two-vessel of interest observed to have been engaged in suspicious movements. One of the vessels was once intercepted, boarded and searched by NNS NGURU on 17 Jun 2020 at the Atlas Cove Single Buoy Mooring area.”