Gulf of Guinea Focus: Week 8
- Agwe Global
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
The Nigerian Navy (NN) has sought media collaboration for accurate reporting of its activities and maritime security successes. Its Director of Information (DINFO), Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said this when he visited this newspaper’s head office in Lagos. Folorunsho highlighted the many successes the Navy has recorded over the years, including being ranked first in Africa and 22 in the world with a fleet strength of 152 vessels. The DINFO noted that many Nigerians were not aware of the strength and capabilities of the Nigerian Navy. He stressed that the NN plays a critical role in Nigeria’s economic prosperity, urging the media to support the service as its successes would directly impact the cost of goods and services, as well as translate to more resources for the country. Folorunsho said the visit to The Nation was in line with the vision of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, to build a modern, agile and professional naval force with the capacity to more effectively secure Nigeria’s maritime interests in collaboration with other security agencies. The DINFO said some people had a lot of misconceptions about the operations and activities of the service, stressing that such people needed to be properly educated.
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The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, has stated that air power remained a decisive force multiplier in maritime security operations, offering speed, flexibility, and reach that significantly enhanced deterrence and enforcement capabilities in support of the Deep Blue Project. The CAS made the statement while receiving in audience the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dayo Mobereola, and his management team at the Headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in Abuja during a courtesy visit. In a statement issued yesterday, the Director of Public Relations and Information of the NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, highlighted the NAF’s robust air capabilities tailored to maritime roles. These include: Long-range surveillance aircraft, maritime patrol-configured platforms, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, and rapid-response air assets capable of swift deployment across coastal corridors. Aneke emphasised that these platforms provided real-time situational awareness, precision tracking, and coordinated response options essential for securing sea lines of communication and protecting critical offshore infrastructure.
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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has concluded a three-day specialised training for officers and men of its Eastern Marine Command on the operation and maintenance of newly acquired patrol boats, in a move aimed at strengthening maritime enforcement capacity and safeguarding Nigeria’s waterways. cooperation. The training, held from 18–20 February 2026 at SeWa West Africa Ltd in Port Harcourt, brought together technical experts, instructors, and operational personnel for intensive theoretical and practical sessions designed to enhance technical competence and asset management. Delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony, the Comptroller of the Eastern Marine Command, Anderson Jaja, described the newly acquired patrol boats as a major milestone in the Service’s modernization drive and maritime security strategy. He stated that the capacity-building programme is part of a broader institutional reform agenda aimed at positioning Customs as a technology-driven, intelligence-led, and enforcement-strong organization capable of effectively protecting Nigeria’s territorial waters. “Our officers must be equipped with the skills and knowledge required to operate and maintain these assets efficiently, so they remain a force to be reckoned with in the region,” he said.
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Navies from five ECOWAS-member countries—Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone—have expressed interest in joining the Nigerian Navy (NN) to operationalise the Combined Maritime Task Force (CMTF). The announcement was made in a statement by the NN’s Acting Director of Information, Capt. A. A. Folorunsho. The move aligns with the approval of the Committee of the Chiefs of Defence Staff to operationalise the CMTF through a coalition of ready nations. The five countries indicated their readiness during the 5th Meeting of the ECOWAS Sub-Committee of Chiefs of Naval Staff held in Ghana from February 16 to 20, 2026. The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, attended the meeting. The flag-off of the CMTF is scheduled to take place in Lagos from May 31 to June 1, 2026. At the meeting, participants praised Nigeria’s role as host nation, highlighting its commitment through the provision of three ships, one helicopter, eight vehicles, and a temporary furnished office in Lagos. The CMTF is designed to be a ready-to-deploy force capable of rapid, coordinated regional maritime security responses, leveraging information from maritime centres within the Yaoundé Architecture to address growing and complex security threats in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).
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The Ghana Navy has taken a significant step toward modernising maritime security operations following the successful conduct of “Exercise BLUE SCREEN”, a Quad-Copter Drone Capability Demonstration held at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC). The exercise was the culmination of an exercise for Operatives trained in Drone Operations by SokoAerial Robotics for 4 months. SokoAerial Robotics has partnered with the Ghana Armed Forces in Research and Development in the area of Drone Technology and Electronic Warfare. Exercise BLUE SCREEN therefore exhibited the capability to track targets with drones and software, both on land and at sea. Spearheaded by the Special Boat Squadron (SBS), the exercise was the first to fully incorporate aerial drone support into a Special Operations Forces maritime scenario at ENC. It demonstrated the Navy’s strategic shift toward intelligence-driven and technology-enabled operations. Delivering the keynote address as Guest of Honour, the Flag Officer Commanding, ENC, Solomon Asiedu-Larbi, underscored the strategic importance of unmanned aerial systems in contemporary naval warfare.
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To recalibrate strategy, tactics, techniques and procedures in the defence of Nigeria’s maritime domain, the Western Naval Command (WNC) recently held Operation AWKWARD 2026, a harbour defence exercise aimed at boosting operational readiness. Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that exercises of such nature enable the navy to identify operational gaps and address them proactively during periods of relative calm, which in turn strengthens its capacity to respond effectively in times of crisis as maritime threats grow increasingly complex and asymmetric, the Nigerian Navy (NN) continues to fine-tune its operational posture to safeguard critical national assets. In line with this objective, the Western Naval Command (WNC) recently held Operation AWKWARD 2026, a harbour defence exercise designed to test operational readiness, strengthen harbour security architecture and recalibrate strategy, tactics, techniques and procedures for the defence of Nigeria’s maritime domain. The exercise was flagged off onboard Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) KADA in Apapa, Lagos, by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abdullahi Abubakar Mustapha, who described the operation as a critical platform for assessing the preparedness of men and equipment under realistic conditions.
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