By Ade Jacobs
The Presidential Steering Committee on Deep Blue Project has disclosed that it is ready to deploy maritime security assets acquired under the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure.
The key components of the Deep Blue Projects are air, maritime, and land assets; Command, Control, Communication, Computers and Intelligence (C4i) Operation Centre and the training programme.
The C4i Centre has been up and running since last year, while over 80 per cent of the assets have been delivered and are ready for deployment.
The assets include helicopters, interceptor boats, unmanned aerial vehicles, special mission aircraft, special mission vessels, and armoured vehicles, which would be operated by a standby intervention team and linked to the C4i Centre.
The centre would also be integrated with the Maritime Intelligence System and the Nigerian Navy’s Falcon Eye for real time monitoring and reporting of activities within the country’s maritime space.
The committee led by the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi (Rtd) had recently visited Lagos, Warri, Benin, and Onne to inspect the assets at the various locations.
Also in the delegation to confirm the readiness of the maritime assets deployment were the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas and the Director General of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamo.
The committee members said they were optimistic about the Deep Blue Project, adding that the assets would be employed to deliver the national expectation on safety and security in Nigeria’s waters and the Gulf of Guinea.
Speaking after the inspection, General Magashi assured of federal government’s determination to continue to improve security in the country.
He assured that the specifications of the latest intelligence and military hardware given to the contractors of the security project would be met.
“Sea piracy is already being tackled by our naval men, whose responsibility is to protect our waterways and they are doing a good job. The Gulf of Guinea is so vast; it involves many countries, with crimes being committed by citizens of these countries.
“But with the acquisition of these security equipment, we should be able to observe, detect and solve the problem of sea piracy.
“The navy is already containing the situation. Before now, sea piracy was high, but it has reduced to a situation where I can say we are in control. The implementation of this project will further help in this direction.”
Amaechi, on his part, said the federal government has fulfilled a critical national aspiration of a safe and secure maritime environment where investors, tourists, and operators could confidently come to do business.
On his part, NIMASA DG said, “We have come a long way in the achievement of this dream, the dream of staying ahead of the machinations of criminals bent on thwarting our yearning for maximum benefits from the rich maritime resources nature has endowed us with. We are deploying technology and advanced domain awareness techniques to ensure security of our waters, up to the Gulf of Guinea.”