NIMASA DG visits NIS CG, preaches inter-agency collaboration

Intensifying the quest for cooperation among relevant government agencies in a bid to secure Nigeria’s maritime domain, Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has visited Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammed Babandede, in Abuja, with a declaration that teamwork was the surest means to security.

Jamoh, who was at the NIS headquarters on a working visit, said the immigration service was a critical stakeholder in the security apparatus of the country.

The Director-General stated that: “We need to interface and synergise to achieve our common goal of national security. Immigration is key to the success of the country’s maritime imperatives in many ways.

“Many of the criminal activities that take place in our waters emanate from land, and NIS is a very important element in any effort to nip such crimes in the bud.

“Collaboration with the NIS is crucial in the achievement of the objectives of the Cabotage Act. Such partnership will go a long way in reducing inter-agency conflicts that often arise from the overlap of functions.

“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, collaboration between NIMASA and NIS is necessary. This will help to harmonise the seemingly overlapping laws and forestall unnecessary rancour or squabbling among officers of the two agencies.”

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).

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