 and the annual multinational maritime security exercise called Nibb or Bagrami Express, kicked off in Lagos on Friday with nine warships and 15 aircraft, including the United States of America, Coast Guard, deployed to the Gulf of Guinea with a view to building the capacities of navies and Coast Guard towards maintaining maritime awareness in Lagos, plus TV Africa correspondent, Destiny Momor-Hesmore. This one-week military exercise, which is organized under the auspices of the United States Africa Command, had 32 countries participating. Speaking of the flag of ceremony held on board the NMS cadre at the Naval Dockyard Victoria Island, the commandant, US Sixth Fleet Vice Admiral Edward Ishe, said 450 participants, comprising sailors, Coast Guards, aviators, and military personnel who'll be on board the ship and planes transiting within the zones during the period to maintain maritime security. I'm very much looking forward to the training that is going to occur this week. Obangami means togetherness, which is very appropriate for this exercise. The exercise is being conducted by 32 nations across four continents and includes all zones of the five Yonde zones. Also in his remarks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey O'Yama, recalled how about five decades ago, Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean became a global challenge that forced navies of the world to move naval assets there to address the challenge. And very suddenly, the Gulf of Guinea became the real black spot globally for maritime transport and other things. And of course, the impact it has on the country's economy and the country of the Gulf of Guinea is enormous, the insurance premiums for ships that have to come to this part of the world. And of course, it has a knock-on effect and impacts on the economy of the countries. In his flag of spate, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awal Gambo, explained that the exercise was conceptualized under need for Gulf of Guinea navies and coast guards to bolster cooperation for regional maritime safety and security and furtherance of the Yawande Code of Conduct. Exercise Obangami 2023 presents another opportunity for the Nigerian Navy to exercise its fleet with other navies and coast guards in the South region, as well as navies of our international collaborators in line with the Yawande Architecture Accord. Accordingly, excess Obangami Express 2023 will be conducted for seven days, commencing from today, 27th of January, 2023 through the 3rd of February, 2023. The Nigerian Navy will be deploying nine ships to helicopters and maritime domain awareness assets, as well as elements of the special boat services for the exercise. Destiny Momo, plus TV News. Hello, hope you enjoyed the news. Please do subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.