The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has ordered Nigerian Navy commanders to intensify operations to defend the country’s territorial waters and clamp down on criminal activity at sea.
Speaking at a strategy meeting at Naval Headquarters with senior commanders and operational leaders, Abbas urged officers to uphold professionalism, integrity and teamwork while strengthening maritime security under the navy’s total spectrum maritime strategy.
The directive comes four months after Abbas assumed office and follows an operational tour of naval commands across the country aimed at boosting efficiency and coordination with other security agencies.
Abbas praised recent successes under Operation Delta Sentinel, including seizures of stolen crude oil, the destruction of illegal refining sites and arrests of suspected oil thieves. He said intelligence-led and technology-driven operations had also helped deliver zero piracy incidents in Nigerian waters in recent times.
The naval chief said the progress had supported higher oil production and saved the country billions of naira that might otherwise have been lost to criminal networks.
He urged commanders to sustain the momentum, work closely with other branches of the armed forces and maintain discipline, accountability and merit-based leadership while safeguarding Nigeria’s maritime interests.