NCCSALW Deploys Scanners to Curb Arms Trafficking Through Calabar Waterways
By Ebi COLLINS
The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), South-South Zonal Centre, has equipped boat operators in Calabar with two electronic body scanners to strengthen the detection of illicit arms and prevent their movement through the state’s maritime corridors.
The scanners were presented on Monday at the Centre’s zonal office in Calabar by the Zonal Director, Alex Ebimiebo, PhD, to the Chairman of Boat Operators, Safe Journey Beach, Marina, Calabar, Comrade Samuel Bassey Johnson, in the presence of management staff of the NCCSALW.
Ebimiebo said the equipment was provided to enhance collaboration between the Centre and boat operators and enable the operators to contribute more effectively to the Centre’s mandate of controlling the movement of small arms and light weapons.
“We need your collaboration and support to enable the Centre to carry out its mandate,” he said, stressing that the Centre was willing to support stakeholders whose cooperation would assist in strengthening security along the waterways.
He said the scanners were provided in response to a request by the boat operators and would be deployed at strategic points to assist in screening passengers and activities around the waterfront.
Ebimiebo urged the operators to make effective use of the equipment, stressing that the scanners were government property and must be handled with care.
He further called for continued cooperation between the boat operators and NCCSALW personnel, saying the Centre’s support was aimed at enabling the union to play a more effective role in securing the maritime environment.
Receiving the equipment, Johnson thanked the Centre for the gesture and pledged the cooperation of boat operators in the fight against the movement of illicit arms through the waterways.
He said the scanners would enhance the operators’ capacity to support security agencies in monitoring activities at the waterfront and assured that the equipment would be properly deployed and maintained.
