The Nigerian Navy (NN) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) have deepened cooperation in maritime safety and security, marine pollution control, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement to achieve improved national outcomes. Other areas of cooperation include intelligence and information sharing, hydrography, training, and professional capacity development.
The Service stressed that sustained inter-agency cooperation remains indispensable to securing Nigeria’s maritime space and advancing the national interest.
Speaking at the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola, at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, said the MoU was designed to strengthen maritime safety and security across Nigeria’s maritime domain.
The Naval Chief said these areas of cooperation would enhance maritime domain awareness, strengthen coordinated responses to incidents at sea, and support the safety of ships, crew, cargo, passengers, and navigation within Nigeria’s maritime domain.
“Beyond operational activity, the MoU establishes a stronger institutional framework for timely intelligence and information exchange, the appropriate utilisation of relevant facilities and capabilities, and cooperation in other areas of mutual interest. Significantly, the agreement provides mechanisms for accountability and sustained delivery. Its implementation will be subjected to regular institutional review, while both organisations will jointly convene an annual Maritime Safety and Security Conference,” Vice Admiral Abbas said.
He added that these mechanisms would provide opportunities to assess progress, address emerging challenges, and refine joint priorities to ensure that the partnership continues to produce practical and measurable outcomes.
“For the Nigerian Navy, securing Nigeria’s territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone remains fundamental to protecting lives and property, safeguarding legitimate maritime activities, preserving national security, and creating an enabling environment for the sustainable development of the Blue Economy. The Nigerian Navy will continue to work with NIMASA, sister Services, and other security agencies to protect Nigeria’s maritime interests and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Navy remains resolute in advancing a safer, more secure, and prosperous maritime environment for Nigeria and the wider Gulf of Guinea,” he said. pop
The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola, described the MoU as a reaffirmation of the shared commitment of both organisations to the security, safety, sustainability and prosperity of Nigeria’s maritime domain and Blue Economy.
He noted that Nigeria’s economic well-being is closely connected to the sea and stressed that securing the nation’s maritime space is a national imperative.
He acknowledged the Nigerian Navy as a critical pillar of Nigeria’s maritime security architecture and recognised its operational support to NIMASA in the discharge of the Agency’s statutory responsibilities.
Linus Aleke
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