The Western Police Command has been advised to seek ways to reach out to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) with respect to equipping the Marine Police to effectively discharge its responsibility of securing lives and properties along the nation’s waterways.
A representative of ENL Consortium, Apapa Lagos, Mr. Rapheal Oyinloye gave this advice at one day stakeholders’ meeting and training on attitudinal change held in Lagos on Tuesday.
“I am aware that the Marine Police are handicapped of equipment. About last year or early last year, NPA (Nigerian Ports Authority )took delivery of two boats which we thought will be given to the Police but ironically, they donated these boats to the Navy”.
“Now, I want us to look elsewhere, since the appointment of NIMASA as DA (Designated Authority), they have been wonderful in the performance of their job. Here, the Western Police can approach NIMASA, I believe NIMASA will be able to assist them in the area of equipment on waterways”, Oyinloye advised.
He further called on the Western Ports Police Command to approach NIMASA in order that they would remove the wrecks on the waterways which now serves as an abode for hoodlums and miscreants who frequently attack terminals in the area and cart away cargoes.
According to him,” we have so many wrecks of ships along our waterways which miscreants are living there and nobody is doing anything about it. Before you say jack, they will bring their canoe to the port, they attack whatever cargo they want to attack and go back in a jiffy”.
“At night, if you move along the waterways, you see them with touch lights and knives inside those wrecks. If you can approach NIMASA which is the DA and that is their responsibility anyway to remove all those wrecks that serve as abode for miscreants. I think that will solve most of the problems”.
While recalling that trading was not allowed within the ports environment, he however blamed the activities of government officials who works at the ports who aided these traders gain access into the ports to carry out trading activities in turn divulge information to hoodlums on the movement of cargoes.
He said, this has been happening for so many times. If you go along the newly constructed road in Apapa ports now, you are likely to see more than ten of them staying by the sides of the roads. These people after studying the environment, they have their colleagues somewhere, they will make calls telling them where cargoes are parked and they will come at night to come and attack us”.
He advised that Police authority to turn its searchlight towards arresting those miscreants whom he said take away some of the goods in the consignments during examination saying that if it look into that area, it will be solving lot of problems in the ports.
