Abuja: The Nigerian Navy has commenced a two-week platinum jubilee celebration to mark 70 years since its founding, describing itself as the top security provider, logistics backbone, and shipbuilder in Africa. The Chief of Policy and Planning, Nigerian Navy, Rear Adm. Olatunde Olodude, announced this at a news conference in Abuja, detailing the activities planned for the anniversary.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the anniversary is seen as a testament to the Navy’s institutional resilience and strategic adaptability. Rear Adm. Olodude traced the service history from a 250-man coastal policing force established in 1956 to its current status. The celebration schedule includes an international fleet review to be inspected by President Bola Tinubu on June 1, alongside the formal flag-off of a Combined Maritime Task Force for the Gulf of Guinea.
The anniversary events also feature the arrival of friendly foreign warships, ship inaugurations, and the ‘6th Sea Power for Africa Symposium’ under the theme ‘Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Maritime Security in Africa’. Additionally, there will be community outreach programs across the country focusing on children to mark the 2026 Children’s Day.
Rear Adm. Olodude recounted the Navy’s origins as the Naval Defence Force in 1956, its evolution to the Royal Nigerian Navy, and the dropping of the royal prefix when Nigeria became a republic in 1963. He highlighted the Navy’s strategic role during the 1967-1970 civil war and its peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, Liberia, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. These deployments contributed to a 2025 Strategic Sealift Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union, recognizing the Navy as an approved sealift provider for peacekeeping and disaster response across the continent.
The Naval Chief also noted the collaboration between the Navy and other security agencies in curbing oil theft and illegal refining in the Niger Delta, leading to increased crude output. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation reported a rise in average crude oil production from 1.3 million barrels per day in January 2023 to 1.7 million barrels per day by April 2026.
Through the Navy’s efforts, Nigeria was removed from the International Maritime Bureau’s list of piracy-prone nations in 2022, reducing shipping and insurance costs and improving trade prospects in the Gulf of Guinea. The Navy’s shipbuilding initiatives have produced five vessels since 2010, with ongoing projects for additional craft and refits for friendly navies.
Foreign naval vessels from Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, C´te d’Ivoire, and Ghana will visit Lagos, and participants from these countries will join in novelty matches on May 30. Heads of navies from 15 African countries and delegations from international organizations are expected for the June 1 review and the Sea Power for Africa conference.
The newly inaugurated Combined Maritime Task Force will bring together regional navies, including Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, to coordinate patrols and address transnational organized crime across the Gulf of Guinea’s maritime expanse. The Navy is dedicated to digitization, technological modernization, and fleet recapitalization, with investments in training to confront emerging threats.
Rear Adm. Olodude urged partners and Nigerians to share in the Navy’s achievements and challenges and take pride in its contributions to national security and regional stability, emphasizing the Navy’s central role in securing maritime trade, reducing oil theft, and projecting stabilizing influence across West Africa.