West African naval cooperation moved closer to operational consolidation as five ECOWAS member states signalled readiness to join Nigeria in activating a Combined Maritime Task Force (CMTF), reinforcing regional efforts to secure the Gulf of Guinea against piracy, trafficking and transnational organised crime.
Desk: Maritime Security & Regional Strategy
Date: Monday, 23 February 2026
Time: 19:00 WAT
Location: Accra, Ghana
Acting Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Captain AA Folorunsho, confirmed that the development followed the participation of Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, 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 operationalised prior approvals by the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff to establish the CMTF as a coalition of ready nations capable of rapid maritime response. Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone formally expressed interest in joining Nigeria in the initiative. The formal flag-off is scheduled for Lagos from 31 May to 1 June 2026.
Nigeria, as host nation, has designated three naval ships, one helicopter, eight vehicles and temporary command infrastructure in Lagos to support the launch phase. The force is designed as a ready-to-deploy mechanism leveraging intelligence streams from the Yaoundé Architecture, including Multinational Maritime Coordination Centres in Zones E, F and G.
Beyond force generation, the Accra meeting reflected a strategic shift from fragmented patrols to coordinated maritime domain integration. ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, noted progress since adoption of the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy, referencing Operation SAFE DOMAIN in Zone E, Operation ANOUANZE in Zone F and joint patrols in Zone G.
The Commissioner emphasised the need to deepen coordination against terrorism financing networks, drug trafficking corridors and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, while urging greater engagement with landlocked states including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The intersection between Sahel instability and coastal insecurity featured prominently in discussions, particularly as maritime routes increasingly serve as logistical arteries for transnational criminal flows.
Nigeria’s FALCON EYE maritime surveillance system was acknowledged as a strategic enabler within the Gulf of Guinea, enhancing maritime domain awareness and interdiction capacity. The meeting also addressed environmental-security linkages, including receding water levels in the Lake Chad Basin and their implications for displacement, resource competition and cross-border criminality.
The Combined Maritime Task Force is expected to function as a rapid-response instrument capable of synchronised deployments across ECOWAS maritime zones, reinforcing deterrence while preserving freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most economically critical shipping corridors.
Vice Admiral Idi Abbas’ engagements in Accra underscore Nigeria’s continued positioning as a maritime security anchor within West Africa, with coalition-building under the Yaoundé Code of Conduct increasingly framed as an African-led mechanism for collective maritime governance.
🏷️Tags: Nigerian Navy, ECOWAS Maritime Security, Combined Maritime Task Force, Gulf of Guinea, Yaoundé Code of Conduct, FALCON EYE System, Regional Security Cooperation
#Nigeria #ECOWAS #MaritimeSecurity #GulfOfGuinea #NigerianNavy #RegionalSecurity #YaoundeArchitecture
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