The Defence Headquarters Monday night took delivery of four ballistics gunboats made in Nigeria to boost the fight against oil theft and sea robbery in the Niger Delta.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Leo Irabor, who spoke at the induction of the gunboats at Nigerian Naval Shipyard, Port Harcourt, said the four armoured gunboats were built by the Naval Shipyard Limited (NSL), Port Harcourt.
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Irabor said the inauguration of the gunboats, built locally, reaffirmed the resolve of the armed forces to clear all illegalities and criminalities at the nation’s maritime space.
He said the defence headquarters would soon award another five units of armoured gunboats to the shipyard, to boost local production and improve naval presence at the waterways.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Awwal Gambo, said the NSL had the requisite manpower and expertise to construct ships, boats, barges and houseboats, among others.
He added that the navy would soon take delivery of a 43-metre Seaward Defence Boat III built by the Naval Dockyard in Lagos.
