The Central Naval Command on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, flagged off Exercise Ebi-Toru—meaning “Sea Protection” in the Ijaw language—an extensive inter-agency maritime security operation aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s response to piracy, crude oil theft, smuggling, and other maritime threats.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Suleiman Ibrahim, stressed the economic importance of securing the nation’s waterways, noting that the maritime sector accounts for the bulk of Nigeria’s trillion-naira international trade.
“The maritime domain remains the lifeblood of our economy,” Rear Admiral Ibrahim said. “Yet, we continue to face evolving threats such as illegal fishing, arms trafficking, drug smuggling, and sea robbery. Exercises like Ebi-Toru help us identify gaps, close vulnerabilities, and validate our operational readiness.”
The exercise involves naval ships, helicopters, gunboats, and personnel of the Nigerian Navy, working alongside sister agencies including the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Police, National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Nigeria Customs Service. Planned activities include coordinated patrols, protection of critical national infrastructure, vessel-boarding drills, anti-piracy operations, and search-and-rescue simulations.
Rear Admiral Ibrahim described the drill as both a readiness assessment and a preparatory exercise ahead of the Chief of the Naval Staff’s 2025 Annual Sea Inspection scheduled for Lagos.
He also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, for their continued logistical and policy support, which he said has strengthened recent naval operations.
Despite the deployment of maritime surveillance systems and patrol vessels, the FOC acknowledged that criminal activities persist, particularly in the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea. He said Exercise Ebi-Toru is designed to improve real-time coordination among security agencies before crisis situations arise.
“We must sustain a credible naval presence to secure our waters for national prosperity,” he told participating personnel, urging all units to fully commit to the objectives of the exercise.
The exercise aligns with the implementation of the Chief of the Naval Staff Strategic Directives 2023–2026, which place maritime security at the core of Nigeria’s blue economy development agenda.
