Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peace Keeping Centre (MILAILPKC), with support from the Government of Japan, UNDP and the Nigerian Army, has organised a two-week course, titled Anti-Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) for military officers.
The course had 30 participants drawn from Armed Forces and Police from five West African countries namely: Benin, Cote D’Iviore, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, as well as senior para-military officers and civilians from several MDAs, including NIMASA and Customs. According to the Commandant of the centre, Brigadier General Obinna Onubogu, the course objective is to build capacity of participants on issues relating to piracy in the GoG and enhance national and regional security.
He said: “To achieve the course objectives, MLAILPKC leveraged the expertise existing in the Nigerian Navy, NIMASA and maritime universities in Nigeria to deliver some aspects of the course so that participants get practical demonstration of piracy actions at sea and its mitigation.”
The commandant said the course is one way MLAILPKC supports the UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2634 on piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea, which was adopted on May 31, 2022.
Onubogu said the maritime sector has continued to play an economic and developmental role in the Gulf of Guinea and the world at large but lamented that those roles are challenged and threatened by a series of maritime transnational organised crimes, which made the centre to design and deliver the course.
In his address, the Special Guest of Honour and Chief of Training (Army), Maj.- Gen Sani Mohammed, said: “The Nigerian Army, under the leadership of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, is focused on transforming, training and character development.
