Captain Folorunsho Assumes Duty as New Director of Naval Information

Chiemelie Ezeobi  

The Nigerian Navy, yesterday, witnessed a formal handover of responsibilities as Captain Abiodun Abidemi Folorunsho assumed duty as the new Director of Naval Information and Spokesperson for the service.

The handover followed the approval of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas (Admiralty Medal), for Captain Folorunsho’s appointment. He took over from Commodore Aiwuyor Adams-Aliu, who served in the role for over two years and has been redeployed to a higher strategic appointment as Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship BEECROFT, the Nigerian Navy’s premier base.

Captain Folorunsho, who was born on 27 December 1979 in Benin City, is from the family of the late Major Peter Adeboji Folorunsho (rtd) and Mrs Rukayat Esther Folorunsho. He had his primary education at Olua Primary School, Benin City, and Army Command Children School, Zaria, between 1983 and 1990, before proceeding to the Nigerian Military School, Zaria, where he completed his secondary education from 1991 to 1996.

He was admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1998 as a member of the 50 Regular Course and was commissioned into the Nigerian Navy as a Sub Lieutenant in September 2003. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Nigerian Defence Academy, as well as several postgraduate qualifications, including a Master of Science degree in War Studies (Maritime) from the National Defence University, Islamabad, Pakistan; a Master of Science degree in International Affairs and Defence Studies from the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna; a Master of Science degree in Energy Management from the World Maritime University, Malmö, Sweden; and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College, Rhode Island, United States. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Ethics and Emerging Military Technology from the United States Naval War College.

Over the course of his career, Captain Folorunsho has attended numerous professional courses at home and abroad. These include the Junior Staff Course at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji; the Senior Staff Course at the Pakistan Navy War College, Lahore; the United Nations Staff Officers Course at the SWEDINT Training Centre, Stockholm, Sweden; the Naval Warfare Course at the Naval War College of Nigeria, Calabar; and the Higher Defence Management Course at the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, completed in 2023.

Since his commissioning, he has served in a wide range of operational, instructional and administrative appointments across the Nigerian Navy. He served onboard Nigerian Navy Ships ERINOMI, AYAM and BARAMA as a watchkeeping officer and marine engineering officer between 2003 and 2008. He was later deployed to Operation SAFE HAVEN (now Operation ENDURING PEACE), where he served as Company Commander and Operations Officer, Bravo Company, Task Force Battalion, from January to October 2010.

He also served as Officer in Charge, Boat Platoon, at the Qua Iboe Terminal, ExxonMobil, Ibeno, between 2010 and 2011, and later as Commanding Officer of the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence and Firefighting School at the Nigerian Navy Institute of Technology, Sapele, in 2011. Between 2013 and 2015, he was a Directing Staff at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, before serving as a Military Liaison Officer at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan from 2016 to 2017.

Captain Folorunsho subsequently held the positions of Manager Production and Manager Plans at the Naval Dockyard Limited, Lagos, from 2018 to 2019, where he was involved in the Nigerian Navy’s indigenous shipbuilding efforts, including the construction of Nigerian Navy Ship OJI. He also served as Assistant Director, Research and Development, at the Defence Cyber Operations Centre.

Most recently, he was Chief Instructor, Department of Maritime Warfare, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, from 2023 to 2025, and later Assistant Director, Plans/CNS Directive, at the Naval Headquarters, before his appointment as Director of Naval Information.

The new naval spokesperson brings extensive experience in public communication, having carried out editorial work on magazines and journals across various units of the Nigerian Armed Forces. He has also compered several local, national and international engagements for the Nigerian Navy, sister services and tri-service organisations, and has served as a resource person on public speaking and protocol management at professional military education institutions in Nigeria.

Captain Folorunsho is a recipient of several honours and awards, including the Chief of the Naval Staff Award for Best Graduating Student, Junior Course, Department of Maritime Warfare, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, in December 2009, and the Chief of the Naval Staff Award for Best Graduating Student on completion of the Naval Warfare Course at the Naval War College of Nigeria in 2019. He also received the Force Commander United Nations Mission in South Sudan Commendation Award in 2017.

His decorations include the Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, United Nations Medal, Passed Naval War College Pakistan, Passed Staff Course Dagger (psc+), General Operations Medal, Silver Eagle Award and Golden Eagle Award. He is a Fellow of the Naval War College Nigeria and the United States Naval War College.

Captain Folorunsho is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, and an associate member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and the Nigerian Institute of Management. He is also a Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan, and the United States Naval War College Foundation.

He is married to Mrs Olawunmi Folorunsho, and the union is blessed with two children.