In March 2010, the School of Naval Armament Technology Technology was established in Kachia, Kaduna State. Benue State now also has a naval base, the first situated within the territory of the defunct Northern Nigeria.
Benue State already plays host to the key Tactical Air Command, a Paratroop battalion and the Army’s first Special Forces battalion.
Northern Nigerian is entirely landlocked even as it has significant stretches of inland waterways, chiefly the international waterways that are the Rivers Niger and Benue which run for hundreds of miles with in the North and meet at the confluence town of Lokoja in the southernmost limits of the region(Northern Nigeria)
Nigeria: Govt Pledges Support for Armed Forces
George Okoh
26 May 2010
Makurdi — Minister of State for Defence, Alhaji Murtala Yar’Adua, has expressed the willingness of the Federal Government to assist in the training and provision of logistic to military formations across the country.
The nation’s Armed Forces, he said, will be provided the necessary tools that will transform them for optimum performance which will raise their capability to defend the country’s territorial integrity. The minister stated this in Makurdi yesterdaywhile on an inspection visit to defence formation in the state.
Yar’Adua, who was at the hanger of the Tactical Air Command of the Airforce to inspect facilities, said he was delighted with the resumed operation of the Air Force and the work done so far by the Command.
He urged the Air Force not to relent on the work carried out on the upgrade of facilities at the Command which he described as satisfactory but continue to strife for more excellence to help them meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Earlier , the minister paid a courtesy call on the Governor of Benue state, Gabriel Suswam, where he commended the state governor for the cordial relationship that exists between the state and the three military formations in the state.
According to the minister, it is a unique thing that Benue state is a host state to three arms of the military with the recent movement of a Naval base to the state which already was playing host to the Army and the Air Force.
Beg Eagle, I may be wrong but I think an institute devoted toward research and development of naval weapons (Guns, Mortals, Mines, torpedoes and Missiles) is better sited close to the sea/ocean. What is the rationale behind this location?