The Nigerian Navy is a branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is among the largest navies on the African continent, consisting of several thousand personnel, including those of the Coast Guard. The Naval Headquarters is the administrative and policy-making organ of the Nigerian Navy. At its head is the Chief of the Naval Staff, who exercises full command of the Nigerian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff has seven staff branches in addition to the Office of the Navy Secretary. The branches are: Policy and Plans, Training and Operations, Administration, Naval Engineering, Logistics, Accounts and Budget, and Safety and Standards. These branches are headed by Principal Staff Officers of flag rank. The Chief of the Naval Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Navy. The position is often occupied by the most senior commissioned officer appointed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.The Chief of the Naval Staff reports to the Chief of Defence Staff, who also reports to the Defence Minister. The Statutory duty of the Officer is to formulate and execute policies towards the highest attainment of National Security and operational competence of the Nigerian Navy. The Western Naval Command Headquarters is located at Apapa in Lagos. It covers the sea and coastal areas from the Nigeria/Benin border at Long 002o 49’ E to Long 006o E in Delta State, from the Nigerian coastline to the limit of the nation's exclusive economic zone. The command has the following units under its jurisdiction:
Headquarters Western Naval Command
Western Fleet at Apapa.
NNS Beecroft, an operations base at Apapa.
Naval Air Base, Ojo, Lagos.
Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, Ojo, Lagos.
Fleet Support Group (West) at Apapa.
NNS WEY, a maintenance unit at Navy Town, Ojo.
Forward Operating Bases Igbokoda and Badagary BADAGRY in Ondo and Lagos states, respectively.
Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta.
Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ojo.
Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ogbomoso.
Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Imeri, Ondo State.
The Western Naval Command Also maintains presence at Tongegi Island in Ondo State.
The Western Command is headed by a Flag Officer Commanding who is of the rank of Rear Admiral. The Eastern Naval Command is the second operations command of the Nigerian Navy and covers the sea area from Long 006o E in Delta State to the Nigeria/Cameroon border at Long 008o 30’ E, and from the Nigerian coastline to the limit of the nation's exclusive economic zone. The headquarters is at Calabar. The Command has the following units under its jurisdiction:
NNS Victory, an operations base at Calabar.
NNS Pathfinder, an operations base at Port Harcourt.
NNS Jubilee, an operations base at Ikot Abasi.
Eastern Fleet at Calabar.
Naval Air Station, Calabar (to be constructed)
Forward Operating Bases Bonny and Ibaka in Rivers and Akwa Ibom States respectively.
Fleet Support Group (East) at Calabar.
Navy Hospitals at Calabar and Port Harcourt.
Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools at Calabar and Port Harcourt.
Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital Calabar, built by Goodluck Jonathan and commissioned by Buhari.
The Central Naval Command is the third operations command of the Nigerian Navy. The headquarters is in Yenagoa in Bayelsa State. Its area of responsibility stretches from the Benin River entrance (Long 0050 00'E) to the Santa Barbara River entrance (Long 0060 30'E), encompassing the coastal states of Bayelsa, Delta, and Edo, and the landward states, including Kogi.
The command has the following units under its jurisdiction:
NNS Delta, an operations base in Warri, Delta State
Naval Air Station, Effurun-Warri, Delta State
Navy Hospital, Warri, Delta State
Forward Operating Bases Escravos and Formoso in Delta and Bayelsa states, respectively
NNS Lugard, an inland operations base on the River Niger at Lokoja, Kogi State.
Nigerian Navy Secondary School Okura-Olafia, Kogi State
The main functions of the Naval Training Command are the coordination and harmonization of training doctrines and standards for all local training in the Nigerian Navy, as evolved by the Naval Headquarters. The Command is headed by the Flag Officer Commanding, who is assisted by nine principal staff officers, namely: the Command Staff Officer, the Command Technical Training Officer, Command Logistic Training Officer, and Command Medical Training Officer. Others are the Command Academic Training Officer, CABO, CAO, CINTO and CPM. The units under the Naval Training Command are:
Sea Training Unit at Victoria Island, Lagos. It is responsible for Basic Operations Sea Training, Safety Operations Sea Training, and Consolidated Operations Sea Training of all Nigerian Navy ships when assigned. It also conducts harbour and ship acceptance trials of vessels after major refits.
NNS Quorra at Apapa, which provides various professional courses for officers and ratings.
Nigerian Navy Engineering College Sapele, which provides technical training for all Nigerian Navy technical personnel.
The Nigerian Navy Finance and Logistic School at Owerrinta.
Nigerian Naval College Onura and the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School, which are co-located at Onne, Port Harcourt. The two establishments conduct basic training for officers and ratings respectively.
Other professional schools, including the Medical Staff Training School at Offa in Kwara State and the Nigerian Navy School of Music Otta in Ogun State, and the Hydrographic School in Port Harcourt, the Naval Provost and Regulating School in Benue State, the Nigerian Navy Intelligence School, and the Physical Training School, both at Apapa, Lagos.
The Logistics Command is headed by a Flag Officers Commanding of Rear Admiral rank. The permanent headquarters is at Oghara, Delta State. However, the Nigerian Navy Order establishing the Logistics Command has been released and the command has since started operation. The order stipulates the organization and responsibilities of the command.
The autonomous units are those units which require prudent management and high-level control that need not be duplicated or represented at the lower hierarchy. Though small in size, they report directly to the Chief of the Naval Staff. Prominent among the autonomous units is the Nigerian Naval Dockyard, located in Victoria Island, Lagos. Hitherto, third line maintenance had been carried out either in foreign dockyards or private ones in Nigeria, at very high cost. The Naval Dockyard in Lagos, which was commissioned on 27 August 1990, now takes care of high level maintenance, such as major overhaul of ships engines, additions and alterations, and modification of designs. The Naval Shipyard in Port Harcourt was also acquired in 1990 from Messrs Witt and Bush. Smaller ships of the Nigerian Navy and merchant ships are repaired there. The shipyard has built and delivered some tugboats and barges to some private organizations.
The 101 Squadron was established in 1985, based at Navytown, near Ojo. It operated AgustaWestland Lynx helicopters for anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue (SAR) operations from the Meko class frigate NNS Aradu. For quite some time, the Squadron has operated Agusta 109 Helicopters from Warri Naval Base on anti-smuggling and oil protection duties.