EU and Portugal Boost Nigerian Navy with Patrol Boats

The European Union (EU) and the Government of Portugal donated two patrol boats and specialized maritime crime investigation equipment to the Nigerian Navy at the Joint Maritime Security Training Centre in Navy Town, Ojo, Lagos. This donation is part of the EU’s €15 million maritime security programme aimed at combating piracy, crude oil theft, and other transnational crimes in the Gulf of Guinea.

The initiative seeks to enhance operational readiness, institutional capacity, and regional cooperation among West African maritime forces. Rear Admiral Abubakar Abdullahi Mustapha, representing Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, noted that Nigeria's sustained naval operations and enhanced surveillance capabilities contributed to its removal from the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy-prone list in 2021.

The new Spanish-built patrol boats will improve the Nigerian Navy's rapid-response capability and maritime surveillance, while the crime investigation equipment will aid in evidence gathering and information sharing among maritime security agencies.