The Nigerian Navy has strengthened its strategic partnerships with the South African Navy and the Danish Ministry of Defence.
The partnerships are part of efforts to enhance maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) and across the African continent.
They followed the maiden Nigerian-South African Naval Staff Talks held from April 12 to 18 at Naval Base Simon’s Town, Cape Town, and a separate visit by a Danish defence delegation to Headquarters Western Naval Command (WNC), Apapa, Lagos, yesterday.
The talks in South Africa focused on maritime domain awareness, joint training, operational cooperation and capacity development aimed at improving collective responses to threats such as piracy, illegal fishing and transnational organised crime.
The Nigerian delegation was led by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abubakar Abdullahi Mustapha, while Rear Admiral S. Makhanya led the South African team.
The engagement, endorsed by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, and his South African counterpart, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, is expected to produce practical outcomes to strengthen bilateral naval cooperation and regional maritime stability.
The Nigerian delegation visited the Institute of Maritime Technology and the South African Naval Museum to explore areas of maritime innovation, research and heritage cooperation. The South African Navy is expected to participate in the Nigerian Navy’s 70th anniversary celebrations in June, a statement by the Director of Naval Information (DINFO), Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said.
Relatedly, the Danish Ministry of Defence delegation led by Ms Marie van der Heijden visited the Western Naval Command in Lagos to expand collaboration on maritime security in the GoG.
Discussions during the visit centred on capacity building, operational support and intelligence sharing to counter piracy, crude oil theft, illegal fishing and other transnational crimes in the region, said spokesman for the command, Commander Jim Ernest, in a statement.
Van der Heijden reaffirmed Denmark’s commitment to supporting regional maritime security through training programmes, technical assistance and advisory support for maritime forces, he added.
Speaking on behalf of the CNS, Rear Admiral Mustapha emphasised the Navy’s commitment to sustaining partnerships with international stakeholders, noting that improved maritime domain awareness, modern surveillance systems and coordinated operations were critical to securing vital sea lines of communication.
Both sides also explored further cooperation in joint exercises, personnel exchanges and logistics support to enhance interoperability and collective response capabilities across the region.
