The Nigerian Navy has opened its fleets to over 1, 300 civilians for a sea trip to commemorate its 70th anniversary.
The ships that took part in the event are NNS Kada, NNS DB Abuja and NNS DB Lagos.
The Flag officer commanding Western Naval command Rear Admiral Abubakar Mustapha while flagging off the event said it was an opportunity to interact with civilians and to receive solidarity for the Nigerian Navy.
Rear Admiral Mustapha observed that over the past 70 years the Nigerian Navy had evolved significantly to a formidable Naval force capable of safe guarding the Nigerian maritime space and protect critical national infrastructure in collaboration with the rest of the Armed Forces as well as other security agencies .
The FOC stressed that, over the last decades the Nigerian Navy has been named number one in Africa in terms of platforms, capability and 22nd globally.
He said the special Forces had compete with others in the world and proved better.
Rear Admiral Mustapha pointed out that the Navy had done excellently professionally in seven decades.
Some civilians who participated in the programme rated the Navy high , and expressed excitement over the experience of a life time.
The Navy ship NNS KADA that took participants sailed outside lagos Bar and returned to the base.
Reporting By Mary Fatile