The Nigerian Navy (NN) has raised an alarm about the proliferation of fake maritime security outfits in the country, posing a grave threat to national security. The service has vowed to crack down on these illegal activities and called on the public to report any suspicious behavior or suspected impostors to the nearest police station or naval base. The Director of Information Naval Headquarters, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, in a statement, expressed dismay over the unscrupulous activities of some impostors and self-acclaimed maritime security outfits who deceive, harass, intimidate, and defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
Some of these outfits go as far as selling recruitment forms to the public and even conduct secret recruitment exercises and training. The Nigerian Navy has observed a rise in the activities of these impostors and miscreants, despite the proscription order of the Federal Government of Nigeria official Gazette No. 58 Vol 100 titled “the Dissolution and Proscription of Certain Associations Order, 2013,” which banned all such firms/outfits. The order states that “the dissolved and proscribed associations shall not be formed into any new associations by whatever name or title, within the meaning of this Order.”
The statement listed some of the proscribed maritime outfits operating illegally in the nation to include; Nigerian Merchant Navy, Nigerian Merchant Navy Coastal Defence Force, Nigerian Coast Guard, Merchant Navy Maritime Academy, Nigerian Merchant Navy Coast Guard Security and Safety Corps, Maritime Security Agency as well as Nigerian Maritime Law Enforcement Agency amongst others.
The proliferation of illegal maritime security outfits is a cause for concern as it may worsen the scourge of insecurity in the country and have a grave impact on national security. The Nigerian Navy has urged the public not to patronize or purchase entry/recruitment forms from these proscribed outfits and to report any suspected impostor or fake maritime security personnel to the nearest police station and/or naval base.
The Nigerian Navy reiterated that it does not sell entry/recruitment forms to the public, and anyone selling recruitment forms is not a naval personnel but an impostor. The perpetrators of these illegalities are warned that the Nigerian Navy will leave no stone unturned in her bid to secure the maritime environment for enhanced security of lives and properties and for the conduct of legitimate maritime commerce as well as related economic activities.