Joseph Chibu
The Lagos State Government has intensified efforts to strengthen security across its inland waterways through technology driven surveillance, collaboration with security agencies and stricter monitoring of passengers and boats.
The Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Blue Economy, Mr. Damilola Emmanuel, disclosed this during an interview with Hybrid News Managing Editor, Mr Hyacinth Nwafor, at the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) office on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Damilola said the state government was prioritising collaboration with the Nigerian Navy and the Marine Police to address security threats, improve passenger safety and protect waterways from criminal activities.
According to him, maritime security requires collective responsibility, making cooperation among relevant agencies essential to effective surveillance and rapid response to emerging threats.
He explained that Lagos had deployed technology to monitor its inland waterways, with intelligence gathered through the system shared with security agencies to support their operations.
The Special Adviser said the state was also discouraging night travel on its waterways as part of measures to reduce passengers’ exposure to criminal activities. He added that safety guards stationed at jetties collect information about passengers and boats and report suspicious movements to the appropriate authorities.
Damilola said regular stakeholder engagements remained necessary to improve coordination, address operational gaps and ensure that security agencies understood their respective responsibilities.
He disclosed that LASWA had established a partnership with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which had deployed personnel to strategic jetties to prevent the movement of illicit drugs through the waterways.
The initiative, he said, was part of broader efforts to prevent criminal elements from exploiting inland waterways to transport prohibited substances and evade conventional security checks.
On the challenges facing the blue economy, Damilola identified overlapping responsibilities among agencies and inadequate funding as some of the issues affecting operations. He, however, described the challenges as opportunities to improve coordination, strengthen institutions and accelerate development.
He said technology remained central to securing the waterways while creating a safer environment for investment, adding that Lagos had established what he described as the first waterways monitoring and data management centre of its kind.
According to him, the facility enables the state to monitor activities on the waterways and provide security agencies with timely information to improve their response to emergencies and potential security breaches.
On collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, Damilola confirmed that discussions had begun, although no concrete agreement had been reached. He noted that the geographical relationship between Lagos and the Republic of Benin made cross border trade and cooperation with customs authorities important to effective waterway management.
The Special Adviser expressed optimism that ongoing discussions with Customs would lead to stronger collaboration, particularly in tackling smuggling and other criminal activities. He said existing partnerships with security agencies, including the NDLEA, were expected to support efforts to prevent criminals from exploiting the waterways to evade law enforcement.