On April 7, the Nigerian Navy welcomed the PHM Comandant Ducuing. The PHM Commander held discussions with Rear Admiral Oamen, Commander of the Nigerian Navy’s Western Naval Command (WNC), on the fight against piracy and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Cooperation between the two navies continued during the assembly of a sea exercise sequence with the Nigerian patrol vessel Sokoto . Preparations for the exercise were conducted aboard the Nigerian tank landing ship LTS Kada . The Nigerian Navy is one of the navies in the Gulf of Guinea with offshore ambitions. Fleet renewal is in full swing.
The joint patrol allowed French and Nigerian sailors to train in the areas of anti-piracy and counter-narcotics. To demonstrate the full extent of its expertise in the field of forced recapture, the Nigerian intervention team was deployed to the Commandant Ducuing by air and lowered by rope.
This stopover was also an opportunity to bring together the French community of Lagos, which is very dynamic in the economic sphere. The ship welcomed Mr. Laurent Favier, Consul General of France in Lagos, some forty French expatriates, and a delegation of Nigerian officers led by Commodore A. Mohammed, Director of Operations of the WNC. Finally, some sporting activities were shared at the Lagos naval base between French and Nigerian sailors.
Since 1990, one or two French vessels, supported by a maritime patrol aircraft, have been deployed in the Gulf of Guinea on a near-permanent basis as part of Operation Corymbe. By strengthening the capabilities of coastal navies, France is contributing to the development of the security architecture resulting from the Yaoundé Process. Operation Corymbe complements the French presence in West Africa by participating in the maritime component of operational cooperation. Furthermore, this deployment is consistent with the concept of coordinated maritime presence promoted by the European Union.