Navy Seeks Stronger Regional Cooperation Against Maritime Threats

The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has called for stronger regional military cooperation and broader African participation in efforts to tackle growing maritime and transnational security threats across the continent.

Abbas made the call on Friday, September 11, 2026, when the Chief of Staff, ECOWAS Standby Force, Brigadier General Sheikh Sulaiman Massaquoi, paid a courtesy visit to the Chief of the Naval Staff at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja.

The CNS said closer collaboration among African militaries was essential to strengthening the continent’s collective capacity to respond effectively to emerging security challenges.

He particularly advocated stronger synergy between the ECOWAS Standby Force and the Combined Maritime Task Force–Gulf of Guinea (CMTF-GoG), stressing that security threats increasingly cut across land and maritime domains.

According to him, shared intelligence, interoperable forces, joint operations and sustained political commitment were critical to building an effective regional security architecture.

Abbas also called on more African countries to join the CMTF-GoG, noting that broader participation would enhance regional capacity to confront transnational maritime threats in the Gulf of Guinea.

Highlighting Nigeria’s contribution to regional security, the CNS cited the country’s practical maritime logistics and strategic sealift support to ECOWAS initiatives.

He referenced the recent transportation of equipment donated by China to ECOWAS and destined for frontline countries, including Benin Republic and Sierra Leone.

The equipment comprises non-lethal field-support items designed to strengthen operational and humanitarian capacity in the beneficiary countries.

Abbas also recalled the Nigerian Navy’s strategic sealift operation in 2022, when NNS KADA transported military equipment to Guinea-Bissau for the Nigerian contingent deployed under the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission.

He said the operation demonstrated Nigeria’s capacity to provide maritime logistics support for regional peace and security operations.

The CNS further stressed the need to strengthen the ECOWAS Standby Force and ensure that it remained operationally ready and rapidly deployable to respond to terrorism, insurgency and organised cross-border crimes.

He warned that the increasingly interconnected nature of Africa’s security challenges meant that no country could effectively confront them in isolation.

“Accordingly, a coordinated regional response, anchored on shared intelligence, interoperable forces, joint operations and sustained political commitment,” he said, represented the future of African security.

Abbas said such cooperation was necessary to protect the continent’s people, resources and development aspirations.

In his remarks, Massaquoi conveyed greetings from the President of the ECOWAS Commission and acknowledged Nigeria’s significant contribution to regional security.

He expressed appreciation for Nigeria’s continued support for ECOWAS initiatives, while underscoring the need to strengthen the maritime component of the regional security architecture.

The meeting reinforced the importance of Nigeria’s strategic leadership and regional interoperability in developing a more responsive security framework for the Gulf of Guinea and the wider West African sub-region.