The Nigerian Navy said it has intensified its surveillance, patrol and intelligence gathering on the waterways to tackle maritime crimes and ensure security which is its core mandate.
The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla, stated this in an interview with journalists shortly after the facility tour of NNS Jubilee in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, on Wednesday.
“We are going to enhance our patrols and presence within the sea and creeks. Already we are making efforts to get more platforms to be able to achieve that.
“We are also going to increase our ability to gather intelligence so that our patrols will be target driven, save cost, minimize efforts and achieve better results.
“We have been doing this over the years, and we are going to redouble our efforts in this direction. To this extent, we are going to improve on our surveillance capabilities, ensuring that we have full coverage of our backwaters,” Ogalla said.
Earlier, the CNS paid a courtesy visit to Governor Umo Eno and said the state remained critical to the operation of the Nigerian Navy, both in the military and policing aspects.
Ogalla acknowledged the state government’s support for the Naval facility at Esene, providing land for the expansion of the school at Uta Ewa, donating a girls’ school in Onna and other support to the NNS Jubilee.
