Nigeria's premier maritime education and training centre, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) is set to deepen its collaboration with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in a bid to enhance maritime security and capacity building. This dominated discussions during a courtesy visit by the Commandant of the Akwa Ibom State Command of the NSCDC, Commandant Hussaini Kefas Bashar to the Acting Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Dr. Kevin Okonna on Wednesday, 18th February, 2025. The Commandant, who led a delegation of senior officers to the Academy commended Academy’s commitment to world-class maritime training and expressed the NSCDC’s keen interest in leveraging MAN’s expertise to enhance the skill set of its personnel in maritime security operations. “The role of the NSCDC in securing Nigeria’s critical assets cannot be overemphasised, our aim is to strengthen the technical and operational knowledge of our officers in the riverine areas, to ensure they are well-equipped to tackle evolving security challenges in the marine environment,” he stated. In his response, the Acting Rector said the idea of the partnership is a welcomed development, emphasizing that knowledge-sharing and inter-agency collaboration are crucial to safeguarding Nigeria’s blue wealth. “The Maritime Academy of Nigeria is dedicated to building capacity for efficient operations of not just the maritime industry, but also for security agencies playing a role in our waters and aviation sector in case of crash landing in water. Officials of Ibom Air practice their ditching exercise in the Academy from time to time. A stronger synergy with the NSCDC would further enhance safety and security within our maritime domain,” he said. According to the Acting Rector, this collaboration would further enhance the commitment of the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola, in safeguarding the nation's territorial waters. “This partnership would mark another strategic step towards reinforcing Nigeria’s maritime security architecture, in alignment with the Federal Government‘s broader vision of harnessing the nation’s blue economy potential,” He said. The meeting concluded with a tour of the Academy's state-of-the-art training facilities and a commitment to integrating the personnel of NSCDC into specialized maritime security courses on offer in the Academy. In the Acting Rector's entourage were the Acting Registrar of the Academy, Mr. P. M. Netson; Acting Rector’s Aides, Mr. Ime Morgan and Mr. Hope Inyang, while the NSCDC Commandant came with his Command's Public Relations Officer, Mr. Friday Ekerette, Head of Intelligence, Mr. David Odo and Head of Vandal Unit, Mr. M. Asibor. From Desk of Head of Public Affairs
MAN Public Affairs Department