The Nigerian Navy Board approved the promotion of 30 commodores to the rank of Rear Admiral in December 2022, and 28 were decorated on December 21, 2022. The remaining two were promoted into retirement, so their decoration, commonly called shipping of stripes in naval parlance, was postponed until their retirement. The two commodores decorated to the rank of Rear Admiral were Preston Efedue and Jamila Malafa.
Efedue, who hails from Delta State, was commissioned into the Nigerian Navy in 1991 and holds a PhD in Diplomacy and International Affairs. He has held several appointments during the course of his career, including Director of Marine Services, Deputy Commandant of Naval War College, and, until his retirement, provost marshal of the Nigerian Navy.
Malafa, who hails from Adamawa State, joined the Nigerian Navy in 1988. She holds a master's degree in the constitution/criminal law from the University of Lagos and international maritime law from the International Maritime Law Institute at the University of Macida, Malta. She has held several appointments within and beyond Nigeria's borders, including serving as African Liaison Criminal Court of Justice of the African Bar Association, UK from 2019 to 2021, and as Judge Evaluator for the International Criminal Court from 2018 to the present. Until her retirement, she was the Director of Legal Services at Naval Headquarters, Abuja.
At the ceremony, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, congratulated the newly decorated Rear Admirals for reaching the peak of their career and urged them to justify the confidence of a proud and deserving nation. He maintained that the reduction in piracy, which led to Nigeria's delisting from the International Maritime Bureau's list of piracy-prone countries and the removal of war risk premium, reduced the cost of insurance from $5,000 to $960 for merchant ships coming to Nigeria. He also pledged his unalloyed loyalty and appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari.
In response to the kind gesture, Rear Admiral Efedue quoted Brian Brown, saying, "What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude." He expressed his gratitude to President Buhari, the Chief of the Naval Staff, the Minister of Information and Culture, and others.
Those present at the event included Hajia Lami Baba, the President of the National Council of Women Society, Legal Colleagues, Principal Staff Officers of Naval Headquarters, and friends and family members of the celebrants. The Navy's success in reducing piracy in Nigerian waters is a positive development for the country's maritime sector, which is crucial to the growth of the nation's economy.