The Nigerian Navy and Maritime Security Challenges in Delta State of Nigeria, 2000-2024: A Conversation

This study situates maritime security as preventive and responsive actions undertaken by states to guard their national waterways against perceived and real threats. This is crucial for safeguarding a nation’s marine assets, infrastructure, and economic interests. Nigeria, with its vast coastline and extensive waterways, faces significant maritime security challenges, particularly in Delta State; a key oil and gas-producing state in the Niger Delta region. The objective of the study is to examine the role of the Nigerian Navy in maintaining maritime security in Delta State, highlighting the Navy’s efforts in combating piracy, oil theft, and other illicit activities. The study depends on primary and secondary sources of data while utilizing qualitative method of analysis. This provides a nuanced understanding of the Navy’s strategic operations such as "TsareTeku" and "River Sweep", undertaken in Delta State are instructive in this regard. The finding shows that despite these efforts, oil bunkering, piracy and other illicit activities remain unabated in the state and are attributed to a web of complex dynamics of the Nigerian Navy, local communities, and multinational corporations. The lack of synergy amongst security agencies undermines the role of the Nigerian Navy for effective maritime security in Delta State and the Niger Delta region at large.