By Chidubem Anthony
The Nigerian Navy is critical to sustaining the country’s blue economy, as maritime security ensures the success and growth of the sector, including trade facilitation, the Commanding Officer, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) KADA, Capt. Ali Ejeh, has said.
Ejeh spoke on Tuesday during a tour of the warship in Apapa by participants of the International Maritime Institute of Nigeria (IMION) Executive Course on Logistics and Trade Facilitation for the Blue Economy.
He explained that through the navy’s intensified operations, Nigeria was delisted from the International Maritime Bureau’s list of pirate-prone countries in 2022, and since then, nothing like piracy on Nigerian waters.
However, “what happens at the channels is sea robbery by the locals, and the navy often arrests and hands those locals involved in illegal bunkering and other criminalities to the authorities,” he noted.
“By and large, the navy is doing a lot to protect all the critical national maritime infrastructure across the country, including the seaports. We have a forward operating base in Bonny in charge of the whole stretch of Bonny Channel, and they do a lot.”
He further urged participants and other stakeholders to help spread the word, saying that Nigeria suffers from sea blindness about what goes on in the maritime space.
Meanwhile, Ejeh disclosed that the ship can embark 250 military personnel with their equipment, armour, tanks and the like, besides the naval staff, which can take it up to about 300 persons.
Highlighting the vessel’s capabilities in troop embarkation, military equipment and logistics transportation, maritime security operations, search and rescue operations, as well as disaster relief and humanitarian assistance across Nigeria and Africa, Ejeh described NNS KADA as a formidable amphibious transport ship.
According to him, NNS KADA had recorded significant operational achievements, including participating in the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau; Exercise Crocodile Lift 2025, in conjunction with the French Navy and Special Forces; and passage exercises with visiting navies from the United States, France, Brazil, Spain and India, among others. These exercises, he said, strengthen Nigeria’s maritime partnerships and operational readiness.
Speaking on the recently approved new world map, Ejeh dismissed fears of possible cyberattacks, saying that the Nigerian Navy vessels have good ICT officers and firewalls to prevent intrusions into the system.
He added that when the certified map is out, the navy’s specially trained programmers will update the software to keep the system safe. Also, with the Navy Hydrography Office and the recently established National Hydrography Agency, which houses hydrography equipment and mapping, the navy does not need to request maps outside the country.
The tour formed part of the ongoing three-day executive course, designed to broaden participants’ understanding of logistics, trade facilitation, opportunities and challenges within Nigeria’s maritime and blue economy sectors.
Earlier, Capt. Abiodun Oyegoke, who represented the Director General of IMION, Rear Admiral Thaddeus Udofia (rtd), said the tour was organised to give the participants a broader understanding of maritime operations and the realities that underpin effective logistics and trade facilitation in the maritime sector.
According to Oyegoke, such practical engagement was necessary to strengthen participants’ understanding of the maritime environment, particularly as Nigeria seeks to harness its vast blue economy potential.
As part of the guided tour of the NNS KADA, the participants toured the vessel’s bridge, fo’c’sle, stern and engine compartments, among others.
