US donates Warship to Nigeria called The NNS Okpabana

The US has donated a new warship to Nigeria .The Nigerian Navy on Friday received the ship called the , NNS OKPABANA .The new warship will be used to tackle security challenges in Nigeria’s waters and the gulf of guinea. Ownership of the ship was transferred to Nigeria from the U.S. Coastguard in May 2014.This is actually the second ship provided by the U.S. government, following the first, NNS Thunder


The Nigerian Navy spent about $8.5 million refurbishing the vessel and emplacing its armaments, the News Agency of Nigeria reported Friday.The Chief of Naval Staff, Usman Jibrin, a Vice Admiral who received the vessel in Lagos, said the addition of the vessel would boost the navy’s war against maritime crimes

“It is worthy of note to state that the successes recorded by NNS THUNDER in curtailing threats in our maritime domain and the larger Gulf of Guinea region, with the confidence reposed in our country by the USA, that made it possible to acquire NNS OKPABANA.The addition of this ship into the NN fleet will certainly bolster our zeal to end the menace in our maritime domain and the region, as well as support the regional and global effort to eliminate transnational maritime threats.
“This nation has always requested the navy to do more and with this, the government recognises that there must be needed platform for the navy to do its job well.The present government headed by President Goodluck Jonathan took the recapitalisation of fleets as a huge challenge and has invested huge funds through the acquisition of two Off-Shore Patrol Vessels (OPV) from China and this one from USA.It is hoped that by the time we take delivery of all, the NN will be better for it,’’ Mr. Jibrin said.