Navy plans celebrating Nigeria’s delisting from piracy list

Force’s ship stops over in Gabon en route Lagos
The Nigerian Navy (NN) is to celebrate the demystification of piracy and related ills in its maritime domain and the Gulf of Guinea.

This followed the recent delisting of Nigeria by the International Maritime Bureau in its report of March 3, 2022.

To mark its 66th anniversary, the force has vowed to sustain the gains of its anti-piracy onslaught.

Briefing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, the Navy’s Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral Saidu Garba, said the exit from the piracy list meant that the most populous black nation was no longer on the list of concerned countries.

The implications, he noted, “are enormous and positive for the shipping industry, general maritime commerce and the national economy.”

He said the force had planned big for its 65th anniversary last year but had to cancel it due to the sudden passing of the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and 11 others.

THIS is even as the newest naval warship, NNS ‘KADA,’ made a historic stopover at Port Gentil, Gabon, on Saturday, May 21.

The Guardian gathered that the brief halt was it’s last before arriving in Lagos.

The vessel was received by the Deputy Mayor of Port Gentil, Micheal Mboumba, in the company of Commander Pouta Honore, who represented Commander of General Bolingui Koumba Base, as well as a representative of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Gabonese Navy, Lieutenant Commander S. Soumbity.

Also, a team from the Nigerian embassy, comprising the Nigerian Ambassador to Gabon, Raymond Brown, Nigerian Defence Attaché, Captain C. Azuike and a delegation from the Naval Headquarters (NHQ), led by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral IA Dewu, who stood in for the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), accompanied by other senior officers, were all at hand to receive NNS KADA.

Naval spokesman, Commodore Olukayode Ayo-Vaughan, said: “In line with tradition, the Nigerian embassy and NHQ delegates, including the Commanding Officer NNS KADA, Captain RO Adoki, paid courtesy calls on some heads of selected government establishments.”

The ship had made port calls in Oman, Kenya, South Africa and Angola before its arrival at Port Gentil, Gabon, from where it proceeded for its final voyage to Lagos yesterday (Tuesday).