By Mariam Sanni
In line with the need to bolster Nigerian Navy’s, NN, platform holding, the Chief of Naval Staff, CNS, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas attended the ninth edition of the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference tagged DIMDEX 2026
from January 19-22 in Qatar.
DIMDEX 2026 was held under the patronage of Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani Amir of the State of Qatar and hosted by the Qatar Armed Forces.
Notably, DIMDEX is the largest exhibition of maritime defence and security innovations in the Middle East region and Nigerian Navy’s participation has opened a new vista for improving its platform composition in line with emerging cutting-edge technology.
During the four-day event, several visiting warships from partner nations were berthed at Hamad Port and open to dignitaries and visitors.
The CNS interacted with many solution providers in the maritime industry on the latest trends and innovations relating to the acquisition of platforms and transfer of technology to improve NN’s indigenous ship production capacity.
It would be recalled that NN had built five sea going platforms locally, namely MV SAUKA LAFIA commissioned in 2010, NNS ANDONI commissioned in 2012, NNS KARADUWA commissioned in 2016, MV TUG COMMANDER UGWU commissioned in 2016 and NNS OJI commissioned in 2021.
The prospects of technology transfer would further reposition the navy to become a leading manufacturer of warships on the African continent. Additionally, DIMDEX 2026 afforded it the opportunity to preview various options of precision guided munitions suitable for maritime security operations in Nigerian waters and Naval Gunfire Support.
This is in line with the CNS vision for the navy which is to “develop a modern, agile and professional naval force dedicated to securing Nigeria’s maritime interests and advancing national security objectives in synergy with other security agencies.”
