To support anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Guinea, the Brazilian Navy announces the arrival in Nigeria of the ship Fragata Independencia. This initiative bears witness to a strategic partnership in addition to the various programs underway to counter piracy activities in the area.

The Fragata Independencia vessel, was deployed to Nigeria for the maritime interdiction mission code named “GUNEX” in the Gulf of Guinea. According to the Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria, Ricardo Guerra de Araújo represented by the Brazilian Consulate General in Lagos, Francisco Carlos Soares Luz, the presence of the 42-year-old ship, Independencia, in Nigeria is a partnership that falls within the framework of a joint operation between Guinea, Cameroon, Cape Verde, to fight against piracy and other maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea. “The fight against pirates in the Gulf of Guinea is very important because piracy activities will increase the cost of products, especially in landlocked countries. Brazil and Nigeria share the Atlantic Ocean as a border. It is therefore important for everyone to establish security at our border. I think no cost is too high to keep the Atlantic Ocean safe,” he said. He added that this was the first operation with the countries and that he hoped it would not be the last.

“We should do this kind of operation often. It will bring our countries together and our relationship has shown the reality in the Nigerian and Brazilian navies that we have so much in common and we need to make sure the relationship is the same,” he said. Regarding the collaboration, Rear Admiral Jason Gbasa, Flag Commander (FOC) Western Naval Command, represented by Chief of Staff Habila Zakaria, said that this initiative aims among other things to strengthen bilateral relations between Nigeria and Brazil as well as improving maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.