The Nigerian Navy has warned the public to beware of scammers impersonating the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, on Facebook and other social media platforms.
The Director of Naval Information, Commodore Aiwuyor Adams-Aliu, stated this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Adams-Aliu said that Vice Admiral Ogallah did not have a Facebook account, warning that any account found in his name should be treated as fake and be reported via Meta mechanism.
According to him, also worrisome are the activities of fraudulent individuals exploiting unsuspecting citizens seeking recruitment into the Nigerian Navy.
He said that investigations revealed certain individuals seized the opportunity provided by the Nigerian Navy recruitment to dupe unsuspecting citizens by collecting huge sums of money from them.
“A notable case is that of Mrs Grace Elijah, who was arrested at the Landmark Hotel at Trailer Park in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers on May 9 for alleged involvement in enlistment fraud.
“Mrs Grace Elijah is a member of a syndicate that collected the sum of N1.4 million from 13 civilians with a promise to facilitate their participation in the recently concluded Direct Short Service Commission (DSSC) 29 Selection Board Exercise.
Disclosing that Elijah and other suspects have been handed over to the Nigeria Police for prosecution, he added: “The public is also to note that authentic recruitment/enlistment processes by the NN are conducted through official channels and are well-publicised through reputable media platforms, including the official website of the Nigerian Navy” (www.navy.mil.ng).
“For emphasis, please note that recruitment/enlistment into the NN is completely free and the Navy will never ask any candidate to make any form of monetary payment throughout the entire process.”