By Musa Ilallah
The Nigerian Navy ended 2024 on a triumphant note across its famed “trinity of action” of surveillance, response capability and law enforcement, under the inspiring leadership of Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, the 22nd indigenous Chief of Naval Staff.
On January 6, 2025, the Navy’s landmark anti-oil-theft operation, Delta Sanity, will celebrate its first anniversary. A week earlier, Vice Admiral Ogalla and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Hieneken Lokpobiri PhD launched the operation’s second phase, which will feature ramped-up aerial surveillance, through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Armed Attack Drones.
In the 12 months since the launch of Operation Delta Sanity I, Nigeria has seen the intensification of deterrence efforts, arrests, and seizures of stolen products, translating into a noticeable rise in oil production levels, as well as the increasing confidence of operators in the onshore and shallow-water areas most affected by vandalization and theft.
In 2024, Delta Sanity resulted in the arrest of a total of 215 suspects and 26 vessels, and the deactivation of 468 Illegal Refinery Sites, 361 wooden boats, and over a thousand dugout pits. Additionally, an estimated 6.5 million litres of stolen crude oil and 7 million litres of illegally refined diesel were recovered.
Coming at a time when there is increasing interest in these production areas by Nigeria’s independent oil companies, these successes are very welcome and encouraging.
In 2024, the Tinubu Administration approved the transfer of about five sets of onshore/shallow-water oil blocks from IOCs to local independents, who are very bullish with regards to maximizing the production potential of these blocks. What better legacy to bequeath to them, at this time, than an increased assurance of security from maritime thieves and vandals?
Pursuing the vision of a well-equipped maritime force, the Navy in 2024 commissioned three new warships: NNS OCHUZOR, a 35-meter Hydrographic Survey Vessel, and two 32-meter Seaward Defence Boats (NNS ZUR and NNS CHALAWA). In addition, three new helicopters joined the Naval fleet during the year, boosting operational capacity for search and rescue, reconnaissance, among others.
There was also the launching ceremony for the second of two 76-meter Offshore Patrol Vessels being constructed for the Nigerian Navy at the Dearsan Shipyard in Turkey,
Naval infrastructure, a critical element for maintaining morale and operational effectiveness, received the necessary focus during the year, with the completion and commissioning of several projects across the country, ranging from operational buildings to new accommodation for officers and ratings. At the permanent site of the new Forward Operating Base (FOB) Lekki, one of the Navy’s newest bases, construction is advancing impressively. Host communities were not left out, with various impactful interventions targeted at them, including an electrification project in a community in Niger State that has been without electricity for more than 30 years.
Nigeria’s security leadership role in the Gulf of Guinea continued, with the hosting of the 8th Symposium of Heads of Navies and Coastguards of the Gulf of Guinea region in Abuja in November, and the CNS’ prominent participation in the 5th Seapower for Africa Symposium in Cape Town, South Africa (where he delivered the closing remarks), and the 14th Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium in Venice, Italy.
In October, the Naval Dockyard Limited completed work on the first of six warships handed over to it in March for repair and refurbishment by the Benin Republic Navy – a move that highlights the growing technical capabilities of the Nigerian Navy and its readiness to support the navies of other countries. It is worthy of note that the Naval Dockyard is a full-service shipyard setting and maintaining a continental benchmark.
During the year 2024, the Nigerian Navy turned sixty-eight and hosted an International Maritime Conference around the theme of “Promoting the Blue Economy in Africa through International Cooperation on Maritime Security.” Alongside this Conference was a regional maritime exercise, “Abo-Okun”, that brought together navies from across the world, including China, Brazil, and neighbouring countries.
The Navy’s CNS Spikers men’s volleyball team won the 2024 Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) Volleyball Premier League title, with its captain, bagging the Most Valuable Player award. The female team came second in the Premier League category. The Spikers have had a most incredible run since they were established in 2021 and have under Vice Admiral Ogalla’s leadership maintained their excellent performance.
In line with tradition, December saw the promotion of 146 senior officers – 24 Commodores to Rear Admiral, 26 Captains to Commodore, and 96 Commanders to the rank of Captain.
One of the saddest moments of the year was the death of Lieutenant Commander Gideon Yashim Gwaza, a hero who tragically passed away in July while leading a rescue mission that succeeded in saving the lives of all 59 crew members on a sinking dredging vessel. It was a very moving moment at the funeral when the Chief of Naval Staff took the stage to comfort the family and assure them of the Navy’s unwavering support.
The final weeks of 2024 also ushered in a new year for the CNS, who turned 56 on the 20th of December. A fitting year-ending celebration for a fine military officer who finished as the best graduating student in the sciences from the prestigious Nigerian Military School (NMS), Zaria, in 1987, and repeated this feat five years later as the best graduating naval cadet in academics, military training, leadership and character, at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.
Earlier, on the last day of October, Admiral Ogalla had the honour of delivering the Distinguished Annual Public Lecture – “Safeguarding Nigeria’s Blue Economy Potentials: The Role of the Nigerian Navy” – at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, highlighting the significant efforts of the Nigerian Navy in supporting the vision of Nigeria as a global blue economy giant.
It was a moment of poignant significance – the return to campus of someone who, almost forty years earlier, was a teenager weighing a UNN admission offer to study medicine. He ended up choosing a different path, that took him into the hallowed corridors of the Nigerian Defence Academy, and has now led all the way to the highest naval office in what is now shaping up to be the most powerful navy on the African continent.
Ilallah is a public affairs analyst. He can be reached on musahk123@yahoo.com
