Nigerian Navy has revealed plans to acquire 14 assault boats from South Africa, to boost its capacity building efforts in tackling maritime crimes.

Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, hinted that the acquisition also involved a phase where part of the construction would be completed in Nigeria, saying the deal was such that the production will start here (in South Africa) and later be transferred to the Naval Dockyard in Lagos.

He stressed that maritime crimes are transnational in character, noting that “what happens to one coastal nation cannot be isolated from the other”.

Vice Admiral Ibas said Nigeria has been able to reduce the cases of piracy to the barest minimum, while efforts are ongoing to tackle human and drug trafficking.

With respect to human and drug trafficking, we are working closely with other national maritime law enforcement agencies to ensure that we are able to contain the menace,” he said.

The Chief of Naval Staff has been attending a string of meetings and events in South Africa on the invitation of his counterpart in the country.