1.      On behalf of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla (Admiralty Medal), officers, ratings and civilian staff of the Nigerian Navy, I welcome you all to Naval Headquarters for the International Press Conference on the occasion of Nigerian Navy 69th Anniversary Celebrations 2025, scheduled to hold from Friday, 23 May to Sunday, 1 June 2025 in Lagos. Series of activities have been earmarked for this all-important event, which shall be highlighted shortly. 

2.      As the name implies, the Nigerian Navy Anniversary Celebration, often referred to as ‘Navy Week’, is an annual event held to commemorate the establishment of the Nigerian Navy as part of the Armed Forces of Nigeria on 1 June 1956. Today, the Nigerian Navy has grown from its humble beginnings with a handful of coastal boats into a force to be reckoned with, not only in the West African Sub-region, but also in the Gulf of Guinea and indeed the entire sub-Saharan Africa.  Consequently, this Navy Week Celebration also serves as an opportunity to present a scorecard of the Nigerian Navy’s performance in the service of our dear nation. This can only be put in perspective by reviewing the noble achievements of the current Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral EI Ogalla.

3.      Under the current leadership, the Nigerian Navy has attained the highest state of operational readiness in the discharge of its constitutional roles. In particular, the fight against Crude Oil Theft has been a huge success under the auspices of OPERATION DELTA SANITY, which was first initiated by the Chief of the Naval Staff in January 2024 and re-launched on 30 December 2025 as OPERATION DELTA SANITY II. In 2024 alone, a total of 215 suspects and 26 vessels were arrested, while 468 Illegal Refinery Sites were deactivated. Also, an estimated quantity of 6.5 million litres of stolen crude oil and 7 million litres of illegally refined Automated Gas Oil were seized and appropriately handled. Furthermore, 361 wooden boats, 1,107 dugout pits and 279 storage tanks were deactivated. Since January 2025, more than 103 Illegal Refinery Sites have been destroyed and 34 suspects linked to crude oil theft have been arrested. Also, 39 wooden boats and one ship involved in this menace were also seized. Additionally, approximately 773 Thousand litres of crude oil and 150 Thousand litres of refined products have been recovered this year. More details of these anti-crude oil theft efforts are in the monthly press statements disseminated for the purpose.  All these efforts have impacted positively on Nigeria’s crude oil production, in line with the President and Commander-in-Chief’s directive to eradicate Crude Oil Theft in order to ramp up Nigeria’s oil production and exports.

4.      The Nigerian Navy has continued to maintain round-the-clock situational awareness of Nigeria’s maritime domain extending to the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone through our Maritime Domain Awareness Facilities. These facilities comprise the Falcon Eye and Regional Maritime Awareness Capacity Systems. Both systems enable early detection and swift response to incidents within Nigeria’s maritime environment. This has ensured that Nigeria maintained its zero-piracy status in the International Maritime Bureau piracy rating. In furtherance to this, the Nigerian Navy has taken the initiative to ensure that the entire Gulf of Guinea is free of piracy and other maritime crimes. Hence, in November 2024, we hosted the 8th Symposium of Heads of Navies and Coast Guards of Gulf of Guinea nations here in Abuja.       

Pertinent amongst the issues discussed during the symposium was the Operationalization of a Combined Maritime Task Force for the region. Once the Combined Task Force is operationalized, all Gulf of Guinea States will contribute men, materials and assets to achieve a co-ordinated regional presence at sea. Furthermore, in February this year, Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, His Excellency, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar CON, mni signed an agreement with the African Union for the provision of strategic sea lift by the Nigerian Navy in support of African Union’s peace support operations, disaster response, personnel movement and humanitarian operations. I am glad to say that as of today, the Nigerian Navy is fully capable and ready to provide that service to the African Union. In line with the Nigerian Navy’s Total Spectrum Maritime Strategy, which delineates our areas of operations from Back Waters through the Exclusive Economic Zone, up to the Out of Area and Land Based Operations, the Navy has concluded plans to establish a Special Operations Command in Makurdi, Benue State. The Command will be situated on the North Bank of the River Benue and would complement the efforts of sister services and other security agencies to improve the security situation in the Middle Belt region.

5.      In terms of fleet renewal, the Nigerian Navy has taken delivery of more platforms in support of all our maritime security operations. Notable amongst these are 3 new patrol vessels and 3 newly acquired helicopters, which will be commissioned during the Navy week. The new patrol vessels are NNS SHERE, NNS FARO and NNS IKOGOSI. All 3 vessels are about 38 meters long with an endurance of 5 days. Two of the vessels were acquired from Singapore and one from South Korea and they all arrived Nigeria in December 2024. These vessels will serve as Seaward Defence boats within Nigeria’s littorals up to the 24 nautical mile contiguous zone and when necessary, go beyond in hot pursuit as necessary. Essentially, they will improve our presence at sea. Additionally, 3 more Agusta Westland 109 Trekker helicopters will be commissioned, bringing the total number of helicopters in the Nigerian Navy inventory to 14, thus improving our air operations exponentially. As you are aware the maritime domain is common to all because maritime boundaries cannot be accurately defined like land boundaries. Hence the Nigerian Navy has staged and participated in several local and international exercises with Gulf of Guinea States and foreign partners to achieve synergy in maritime security. Most important is the recently concluded EXERCISE OBANGAME EXPRESS 2025, which was conducted from 10 – 16 May 2025. This exercise brought together navies of Gulf of Guinea states and foreign partners including USA, Brazil, Italy and Spain. I am happy to say that it was a very successful exercise, which underscored the resolve of Gulf of Guinea nations to present a common front in the fight against maritime crimes.

6.      Having refreshed our minds on why the Nigerian Navy is proud to celebrate this year’s Navy Week, permit me to highlight the key activities for the event starting with the Special Juma’at Prayers which will hold on Friday, 23 May 2025 at Mogadishu Cantonment here in Abuja, while the Interdenominational Church Service will hold on Sunday, 25 May 25 at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Navy Town, Lagos. Medical Rhapsodies and Naval Officers’ Wives Association Activities will be held simultaneously on Monday, 26 May 2025 in Nigerian Navy host communities across Commands. Thereafter, a Sailing Competition and Boat Race will take place at the Nigerian Navy Sailing Club in Lagos on Wednesday, 28 May 2025. On that same day, there will be an unveiling of the newly remodeled auditorium of the International Maritime Institute of Nigeria. Recall that the Institute was established during the Navy Week last year as the brainchild of the Chief of Naval Staff. The International Maritime Institute was conceptualized to be the most veritable platform and think/tank for maritime strategic thinkers, practitioners and foreign allies to share ideas and undertake research in maritime strategic affairs and since then, the Institute has made some modest achievements. On Thursday, 29 May 2025, ships will be open to visitors in all Commands of the Navy. You are hereby enjoined to make effort to visit any of our ships in Lagos, Warri, Port Harcourt or Calabar. Similarly, the next day, Friday 30 May 2025, designated ships across all Commands will take all our visitors to sea for a few hours during the day. Once again, you are invited to go onboard our ships with your family and friends to experience life at sea. On the same day, there will be a Golf Kitty at the Dolphin Golf Club in Navy Town Ojo, Lagos. The commissioning of 3 ships, 3 helicopters and junior officers’ accommodation will take place on Saturday, 31 May 2025 at NNS BEECROFT Apapa, Lagos.

7.      The series of activities marking the Navy Week Celebration this year will be rounded off on Sunday, 1 June 2025, with the Ceremonial Sunset and Dinner at Naval Dockyard Limited, Victoria Island, Lagos.

8.      Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, permit me to use this opportunity to appreciate your continuous support for the Nigerian Navy. I call on you to follow the events earmarked for the Nigerian Navy’s 69th Anniversary closely and give adequate publicity to our Navy. I thank you all for your time and attention today. God Bless and Onward Together.