The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has solicited the support of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in order to curb illegal migration and piracy on the nation’s waters.
Bashir Jamoh, director-general of NIMASA, who solicited for collaboration during a recent visit to comptroller-general of Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammed Babandede, in Abuja, stated that partnership with relevant government agencies as necessary to securing Nigeria’s maritime domain.
Jamoh described immigration as a critical stakeholder in the security apparatus of the country. He said the service was also critical in the implementation of the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act (Cabotage), which seeks to empower Nigerians in the maritime sector.
“We need to interface and synergise to achieve our common goal of national security. Many of the criminal activities that take place in our waters emanate from land, and Immigration Service is a very important element in any effort to nip such crimes in the bud,” he said.
Continuing, he said, “There are provisions in the Immigration law, for instance, that empower the NIS to grant work permits to expatriates, and some of these expatriates work as seafarers. But, then, according to one of the four legs of the Cabotage regime, expatriates are not meant to man our ships, except where their expertise is needed for such operation. And their services can only be engaged after a waiver has been granted by the exclusive permission of the Minister of Transportation.”
To avoid any conflicts that may arise from a situation, where, for instance, a seafarer had obtained a work permit from the Immigration but is not qualified to function as a seafarer within the Nigerian maritime domain, Jamoh noted that collaboration between NIMASA and NIS is necessary.
This, he said, would help to harmonise the seemingly overlapping laws and forestall unnecessary rancor among officers of the two agencies, adding that NIMASA was currently enjoying such synergy with agencies like the Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police, and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
“So far, we have recorded tremendous successes in our various mandates through such collaboration. One of the most notable is the recent arrest of suspected pirates, which was made possible by information and intelligence sharing,” he added.
Responding, Babandede expressed the readiness of the NIS to partner with NIMASA to curb illegal migration and piracy.
He disclosed that NIS had started making use of the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS), a comprehensive border management information system developed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
He said MIDAS was designed with the capability to collect, process, store, and analyze travelers’ information, especially the biometrics and profile, in real-time for the purpose of identification, verification, and authentication of documents.
According to him, MIDAS had been installed in about 24 locations across the country’s land borders, airports, and seaports, which include the International airports in Abuja, Enugu, Lagos, and Kano; and land borders in Ogun, Cross River, Kastina, Jigawa, Kebbi, and Zamfara states.