The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) says it is collaborating with Ghana-based Kofi Annan International Peace and Training Centre (KAIPTC) to strengthen the capacity of its staff.
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Austin Udeh, Assistant Director, Public Affairs, NOSDRA in a statement issued in Abuja, said a five-man team from KAIPTC paid a courtesy visit to the Director-General of NOSDRA, Mr Idris Musa on Friday.
Speaking during the visit, Musa expressed deep gratitude over the new collaborative engagement with the centre.
He said the collaboration had culminated in a staff member of the agency undergoing a rewarding training programme at the centre in 2019 on maritime security and transnational crimes.
The director-general said that one of the key issues arising from that training was the need for inter-agency synergy.
He said this synergy was applied during the multi-stakeholders’ operation involving NOSDRA, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Navy and others against maritime crimes in Nigeria in 2019, tagged: “30 Days at Sea”.
He said that NOSDRA was involved in a number of working relationships with other critical stakeholders including the National Central Bureau of Interpol on crude oil theft.
He thanked KAIPTC for the training opportunities being offered to the staff of NOSDRA, adding that the agency was faced with the challenge of capacity building, working tools and public sensitisation among others.
Mr Colonel Ulrich, the leader of the KAIPTC team, expressed delight at NOSDRA’s invaluable contribution to exchange of vital information on maritime security, especially with regard to crude oil theft and illegal refining.
“The agency has been collaborating with bodies like Nigerian Navy, military Joint Task Force (JTF), NIMASA, Marine Police and Interpol to contain and constrain such criminal enterprises in Nigeria’s oil industry.’’