The Department of Maritime Warfare (DMW) recently conducted a one-day seminar for the students of Senior Course 38 Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji on Law of the Sea at Adelanwa Hall.
The Commandant AFCSC, Air Vice Marshal Suleiman Abubakar Dambo, who declared the seminar opened said the colloquium was organized yearly in order to give the Maritime students an opportunity to grasp frontline concepts that would shape the contemporary maritime operations in line with the law of the sea. He said the question is on how the Nigerian Navy could leverage National and International statutes to deliver maritime security across board. The topic of the seminar was “Building Sub-regional Consensus for Enhanced Maritime Security in West Africa: Legal Implications of ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy” and “Establishment of Tribunal for Crude Oil Theft and Other Related Crimes: The Legal Perspective.”
AVM Dambo also noted that the topics are not only topical, but at the heart of our nation’s current efforts to contend with maritime threats to the economy and environment and that it becomes important particularly as Nigeria seeks to claim the 350 nautical miles extent of her continental shelf as well as the heightened military, diplomatic and economic interests in the Gulf of Guinea. He therefore commended DMW for its choice of the topics, saying that with the caliber of the resource persons, the collective knowledge base would be significantly enhanced.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Director Department of Maritime Warfare, Rear Admiral MM Kadiri explained that the Law of the Sea Seminar is an annual event in the AFCSC curriculum and also to create a forum for the discussion of issues related to the maritime environment in which the students will operate after the course and serve as an avenue for legal and other related professionals to rub minds and enlighten the students on how to operate within the ambit of the law. He added that the role the Nigerian Navy to strive to achieve in collaboration with other maritime stakeholders and legal practitioners the sustenance and improvement of a secured maritime environment.
