Nigeria: EU, Portugal Donate Patrol Boats, Crime Investigation Equipment to Nigerian Navy

What the report says

This Day, in a report distributed by AllAfrica, says the European Union and Portugal have handed over two patrol boats and specialised maritime crime investigation equipment to the Nigerian Navy as part of a wider effort to improve security in the Gulf of Guinea. The handover took place at the Joint Maritime Security Training Centre in Navy Town, Ojo, Lagos, under an EU-funded €15 million maritime security programme implemented by Portugal across the ECOWAS region.

According to the report, the support is intended to strengthen Nigerian and regional capacity against piracy, crude oil theft and cross-border maritime crime. The programme also covers training, operational assistance, maritime domain awareness, law enforcement, search-and-rescue and criminal investigation capacity. EU and Portuguese representatives said the Gulf of Guinea remains important for West African economies, global trade and international shipping, and that equipment must be matched with sustained training and institutional support.

Rear Admiral Abubakar Abdullahi Mustapha, representing the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, said Nigeria’s continued naval operations, surveillance and intelligence-led enforcement helped lead to the country’s removal from the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy-prone list in 2021. He said the partnership with the EU and Portugal complements ECOWAS efforts to secure regional waters.

Mustapha said the Navy already uses more than 300 rigid-hulled inflatable boats, but that the newly donated Spanish-built boats would improve rapid response, flexibility and surveillance. He added that the investigation equipment would help with evidence collection, case work and information sharing among maritime security agencies.