Worried by the increasing incidences of kidnapping, hijacking, hostage taking and attacks on merchant ships on Nigerian waterways the Nigerian Navy has set up a maritime task team to nip the menace in the bud.

The Chief of Naval Transformation, Rear Admiral Henry Babalola, told journalists that since January 14, 2016, there has been an increase of criminal activities on Nigerian waterways.

To this end, the Chief of Naval Staff has set up a task team to stop the criminals from having access to legitimate shippers and businesses on Nigerian waterways.

The task team, named Operation Tsar Teku, is to be commanded by a Commodore and will involve four ships.