Nigerian Navy Ranks, Symbols and Salary Structure

September 8, 2023 Abiodun Adewusi

Like every country in the world, Nigeria has its Navy. Founded in 1958, the service has the duty of defending the territorial waters. Presently, it stands as one of the largest navies in Africa with thousands of personnel.

Do you want to know about the ranks in the service? Are you interested in the salary structure of every Nigerian Navy officer? With this post, you will have answers to all your questions about the Nigerian Navy.

The Nigerian Navy Ranks

The Navy places its personnel under two broad categories – commissioned and non-commissioned officers. Most of the senior officers fall in the first group while junior personnel belong in the other class. Now let’s check out the ranks under both groups.

The Nigerian Navy Ranks: Commissioned Officers

Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral
Vice-Admiral
Rear Admiral
Commodore
Captain
Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant
Acting Sub-Lieutenant
Mid-Shipman

The Nigerian Navy Ranks: Non-Commissioned Officers

Warrant Chief Petty Officer
Chief Petty Officer
Petty Officer
Leading Rating
Able Rating
Ordinary Rating
Trainee

The Nigerian Navy: Salary Structure

The Navy has an attractive pay structure for its personnel. So, if you want to know more about the pay of the Navy, look at the table below that shows the monthly and annual salaries of the commissioned staff.

Rank	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary
Admiral	₦16,303,140	₦1,358,595
Vice Admiral	₦13,363,229	₦1,113,602
Rear Admiral	₦12,038,945	₦1,003,245
Commodore	₦7,385,856	₦615,488
Captain	₦3,715,859	₦309,655
Commander	₦3,380,086	₦281,674

The Nigerian Navy: Symbols/Insignia of the Ranks

You can identify the rank of a Navy officer by looking at their insignia. Since the emblems rest on the shoulder of their uniforms, you can easily guess the rank within minutes.

Related:

The Nigerian Navy: All You Need to Know About the Senior Ranks

Do you wish to know more about the ranks of the commissioned officers in the Navy? You will find a detailed explanation in the following paragraphs.

Admiral of the Fleet

This rank stands as the highest in the Nigerian Navy. Since it’s an honorary title, it’s not awarded regularly. You can even compare it to the Field Marshal and Marshal of the Nigerian Air Force and Army.

Admiral (Adm)

Although it looks like they see the second rank on this list, it stands as the highest rank of the Nigerian Navy. Since the Admiral of the Fleet comes as an honorary rank, this commission claims the top spot. Moreover, it’s on the same level as the Air Chief Marshal or General titles of the Army and Air Force.

Vice-admiral

Commonly known as 3-star officers, personnel with this rank stand on the same level as the Air Vice-Marshal or Lieutenant General positions.

Rear-admiral

Also known as flag officers, personnel on this rank come as the lowest of the Admiralty cadre. You can also describe them as 2-star officers.

Commodore (Cidre)

This position equals the Air Commodore of the Nigerian Air Force. It also stays on the same level as a Brigadier in the Nigerian Army.

Captain

If you have this rank, you will head the operations of the largest sea vessels of the Nigerian Navy. At this rank, you will be on the same level as a colonel in the Nigerian Army.

Commander

This position equals the rank of a Wing Commander or Lieutenant Colonel of the Nigerian Army or Air Force.

Lieutenant Commander

A Squadron Leader in the Nigerian Airforce equals this Nigerian Navy rank. You can also compare this position to the Major rank of the Nigerian Army.

Lieutenant

A Lieutenant in the Nigerian Navy has the same rank as a Flight lieutenant of the Nigerian Airforce. He/She also has the same status as a Captain in the Nigerian Army.

Sub-Lieutenant

Officers of this rank have equal status with Lieutenant of the Nigerian Army. The title also equals the Flying Officer rank of the Nigerian Airforce.

Mid-Shipman

This ranks as the least commission amongst the senior cadre of the Nigerian Navy. It has the same status as the Second Lieutenant or Pilot Officer of the Nigerian Army or Airforce respectively.

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