Chinese warship departs after days of combined exercise with Nigerian Navy

The Chinese Navy Ship NANNING has departed West African shores after a combined exercise with the Nigerian Navy in the Gulf of Guinea (…

The Chinese Navy Ship NANNING has departed West African shores after a combined exercise with the Nigerian Navy in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) on Thursday evening.

The Nigerian Navy Western Naval Command hosted the exercise on behalf of the Nigerian Navy to honour the Chinese Navy after spending five days in the GoG.

During the exercise, the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Kano, patrolled the nation’s nexus to carry out various exercises to bid its Chinese counterpart a farewell.

The exercise, which lasted for almost eight hours, was led by Commander Ado Ibrahim Yalo.

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The commander ensured that the exercises were peaceful and successful with the cooperation of his colleagues onboard the ship.

After the exercise with the Chinese Navy, the Nigerian Navy embarked on parade on the GoG for a few hours before returning back to their base at Apapa.

The Chinese ambassador to Nigeria hailed the five-day visit as a milestone in ties, while the Nigerian Navy expressed willingness to work with China to tackle maritime security threats and maintain stability in the Gulf of Guinea.

Spokesperson for the Nigerian Navy (NN), Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, noted that the two nations have a long-standing relationship, stating that the visit was to strengthen existing ties.