The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has joined other regional naval chiefs at the Fifth Meeting of the ECOWAS Sub-Committee of Chiefs of the Naval Staff held in Accra, Ghana, from 16 to 20 February 2026.
The meeting brought together key maritime and security stakeholders across West Africa to strengthen cooperation in addressing maritime crime, terrorism and other transnational threats in the Gulf of Guinea.
In a statement on Sunday, Acting Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Captain AA Folorunsho, said the gathering also had in attendance the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, as well as directors of the West Africa Regional Maritime Security Centre and the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centres (MMCC) Zones E, F and G.
Representatives of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the European Union-African Chamber of Commerce and the Commander of the Combined Maritime Task Force (CMTF) also participated in the meeting.
According to the statement, Ambassador Musah commended the progress made since the adoption of the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy, particularly through the conduct of Operation SAFE DOMAIN in Zone E, Operation ANOUANZE in Zone F and joint maritime patrols in MMCC Zone G.
He stressed the need for enhanced regional collaboration to tackle terrorism, drug trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, noting the importance of extending cooperation to landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The ECOWAS Commissioner also acknowledged Nigeria’s leadership in combating maritime criminality in the Gulf of Guinea and highlighted the country’s deployment of the Falcon Eye Surveillance System as a major milestone.
The meeting also discussed the operationalisation of the Combined Maritime Task Force through a coalition of ready nations, following the approval by the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff.
Five countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, expressed interest in joining Nigeria in the initiative.
The flag-off of the CMTF is scheduled to take place in Lagos from 31 May to 1 June 2026.
The meeting praised Nigeria’s role as the host nation, noting its commitment to supporting the launch of the task force through the designation of three ships, one helicopter, eight vehicles and a temporary furnished office in Lagos.
The CMTF is expected to serve as a ready-to-deploy regional maritime force capable of rapid and coordinated responses to security threats, leveraging intelligence from maritime centres within the Yaoundé Architecture.
Vice Admiral Abbas’ participation and engagements at the meeting, according to the statement, further reaffirm Nigeria’s strategic role in promoting collective maritime security and developing African-led solutions to address emerging threats in the Gulf of Guinea and across West Africa.
