Navy plans operational base in Ogun to combat criminals
The Nigerian Navy (NN) has revealed the plan to establish a base in Ogun State in order to assist other security agencies to combat criminal activities.
The Flag Officer, Commanding the Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ferguson Bobai, said in Abeokuta that the gesture was aimed at fighting “maritime illegalities”, which he said had become rampant in the area.
Bobai who spoke when he paid a courtesy visit to the State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun at his Oke-Mosan Governor’s Office, Abeokuta, stated that, based on the directive of the Chief Naval Staff, he had already visited the site to assess available facilities “with a view of establishing a base there”.
Tongeji Island is a border community in Ipokia Local Government Area of the state on the Nigeria-Republic Benin border and is said to be rich in crude oil.
The navy boss said that the base, when established, would serve as a check-point on the Nigeria-Benin Republic border.
Bobai assured Amosun that the Navy would use the base to assist the state in fighting criminal activities in the area, disclosing that the navy in conjunction with the Nigerian Customs, had already arrested some suspects over criminal activities there.
His words: On the 4th of April, I was at Tongeji Island in Ipokia Local Government at the instance of Chief of Naval Staff to see what kind of infrastructure we have on ground with a view to establishing a naval unit there. That was why we went there and interestingly that island is just five minutes to Port Novo and there is no connectivity on land”.
“We have made some arrests since the beginning of this year, stretching from people dealing with petroleum products and these products are gotten from pipeline vandalism and smuggling of contraband and drugs we’ve all seized in conjunction with Customs,” Bobai affirmed.
“So, it is hoped that when the naval base is established there, we will act as a check-point where people must pass to go to Benin Republic and once our presence is established there, it’s like you virtually block them. We expect to see a decline in some of these illegal activities within that stretch”.
On the wave of militant activities in the state, Bobai stated that, “As a matter of fact, you know that there is an on-going operation called Operation Awatse. Awatse is a Hausa word for ‘scatter’; so we hope that in a short while, the Operation Awatse would swing into intensive operations to ensure that all these places are cleaned up of these militants”.
Amosun urged the Navy and the Federal Government to continue to assist the state in combating the militants.
He said that the Federal Government should take the Tongeji Island issue serious to avoid the mistake made on Bakassi Peninsula.
