CROSS RIVER – Calabar’s waterways are set for tighter security screening as the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), South-South Zonal Centre, has presented two electronic body scanners to boat operators.
The scanners are intended to strengthen screening and surveillance at the waterways and support efforts to detect and prevent the smuggling and trafficking of illicit weapons into Cross River State.
The equipment was handed over on Monday at the NCCSALW zonal office in Calabar to the Chairman of Boat Operators, Safe Journey Beach, Marina, Calabar, Comrade Samuel Bassey Johnson.
Presenting the scanners, the Zonal Director of the Centre, Alex Ebimiebo, PhD, said cooperation with boat operators was essential to the effective implementation of NCCSALW’s mandate.
“We need your collaboration and support to enable the Centre to carry out its mandate,” Ebimiebo said.
He explained that the two scanners were provided following a request by the boat operators and would be deployed at strategic points to strengthen screening and monitoring activities.
According to him, the initiative was part of the Centre’s efforts to provide the necessary tools and strengthen its partnership with operators working along the waterways.
Ebimiebo urged the boat operators to use the equipment properly and maintain accountability, stressing that the scanners remained government property and should be handled with care.
He added that the equipment would support the boat operators in working with security personnel to safeguard the waterways and curb the movement of illicit arms.
Responding, Johnson appreciated the NCCSALW for providing the scanners and pledged the continued cooperation of boat operators with the Centre and other security agencies.
He said the equipment would improve the operators’ capacity to support monitoring activities at the waterfront and contribute to efforts to prevent the movement of illicit weapons through Calabar’s maritime routes.
The presentation was witnessed by management staff of the NCCSALW South-South Zonal Centre.
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