The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, has underscored the need for broader regional security cooperation to combat terrorism, drug trafficking, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing across West Africa.
Speaking at the Fifth Meeting of the ECOWAS Sub-Committee of Chiefs of the Naval Staff in Ghana, Musah emphasised the importance of improved coordination with landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to address terrorism and other transnational organised crimes affecting the region.
The Commissioner commended progress made since the adoption of the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy, highlighting key initiatives including Operation SAFE DOMAIN in Zone E, Operation ANOUANZE in Zone F, and joint maritime patrols in MMCC Zone G.
He also acknowledged Nigeria’s sophisticated FALCON EYE Surveillance System and its leadership in combating maritime criminality in the Gulf of Guinea. Musah further urged stakeholders to develop measures to address the receding water levels in the Lake Chad Basin, noting the broader security implications for affected communities.
In line with the approval of the Committee of the Chiefs of Defence Staff to operationalise the Combined Maritime Task Force (CMTF) through a coalition of ready nations, five countries — Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone — have expressed interest in joining Nigeria in the initiative.
The official flag-off of the CMTF is scheduled to take place in Lagos from May 31 to June 1, 2026. Participants at the meeting praised Nigeria’s proactive role as host nation, noting its commitment to 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 force capable of rapid and coordinated regional maritime security responses. It will leverage intelligence and information from maritime coordination centres within the Yaoundé Architecture to tackle increasingly complex security threats in the Gulf of Guinea.
Nigeria’s Chief of the Naval Staff, Idi Abbas, joined his counterparts at the five-day meeting held from February 16 to 20, 2026, in Ghana.
Admiral Abbas’ engagements at the forum reaffirmed Nigeria’s central role in regional maritime security, particularly following commitments secured from partner navies to join the CMTF.
He pledged the unwavering commitment of the Nigerian Navy to collaborate with regional partners under the Yaoundé Code of Conduct, aimed at strengthening coordination, promoting the exchange of best practices and fostering African-led solutions to maritime threats across the Gulf of Guinea and West Africa’s maritime domain.
