NNS Kada returns to Lagos after peace keeping mission to Guinea Bissau

The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) KADA, a Landing Ship Transport (LST), has arrived back in Lagos harbour, 18 days after it transported crew and military equipment to Guinea Bissau for a peacekeeping operation.

NNS KADA departed Lagos for Guinea Bissau on August 6, 2022, under the command of Navy Captain Reginald Adoki, with the goal of disembarking military supplies for the Nigerian contingent participating in the ECOWAS Stabilization Support Mission in Guinea Bissau.

In response to the instability in Guinea Bissau after President Umaro Sisoco Embalo escaped a coup attempt in February 2022, Economic West Africa (ECOWAS) launched the Security Stabilization Mission in Guinea Bissau (ESSMGB) with a one-year renewable mandate to stabilize the country.

The ESSMGB is made up of soldiers from Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast, each of which has a detachment in Guinea Bissau.

Basically, the three goals of the participating troops are to safeguard the government of Guinea-Bissau, help the armed forces of Guinea-Bissau stabilise the nation, and protect people.

Represented by the Chief of Naval Safety and Standards, Rear Admiral Perry Onwuzulike, the CNS reiterated that NNS KADA’S voyage to and from Guinea Bissau to Lagos was its first national assignment after she arrived from the United Arab Emirates on May 27, 2022.

He said one of the roles of the Nigerian Navy is strategic sealift which NNS KADA performed commendably to support the ECOWAS mandate in line with Nigerian’s foreign policy objectives

He also emphasised that there is no doubt that the Nigerian Navy would continue to leverage the sealift capability as it seeks further collaboration with Sister services.

Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), greeted the ship and crew at the Nigerian Navy Ship BEECROFT Jetty in Apapa, Lagos.