By Helen Udoh, Outlook Media ABUJA.
The Nigerian Navy (NN) has issued a warning to the public about the increasing trend of social media impersonation and recruitment fraud.
A statement signed by the Director of Information, NN, Commodore Adams Aliu on Thursday said scammers have been impersonating the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, on Facebook and other social media platforms, defrauding unsuspecting citizens.
The NN has clarified that the CNS does not have a Facebook account, and any account found in his name is fake and should be reported immediately. Furthermore, fraudulent individuals are exploiting citizens seeking recruitment or enlistment into the NN, collecting huge sums of money with false promises of recruitment.
“It is pertinent to state that the CNS does not have a Facebook account, thus an account
found in his name is fake and should be reported via Facebook/meta mechanism. Also
worrisome, are the activities of fraudulent individuals exploiting unsuspecting citizens
seeking recruitment/enlistment into the NN.
“Investigations revealed that certain
individuals seized the opportunity provided by the NN recruitment/enlistment to dupe
unsuspecting citizens by collecting huge sums of money from them with the promise of
recruitment/enlistment.” he explained.
The statement adds that recently, a suspect, Mrs Grace Elijah, was arrested at Landmark Hotel in Eleme LGA of Rivers State for alleged involvement in enlistment fraud.
She was part of a syndicate that collected N1,400,000 from 13 civilians, promising to facilitate their participation in the recently concluded Direct Short Service Commission (DSSC) 29 Selection Board Exercise. He said the suspects have been handed over to the Nigeria Police for prosecution.
The NN urges Nigerians to exercise caution and vigilance when seeking recruitment or enlistment. Authentic recruitment processes are conducted through official channels and are well-publicized through reputable media platforms, including the official NN website ((link unavailable)).
Commodore Aliu warns that, recruitment into the NN is completely free, and the NN will never ask candidates to make any monetary payment throughout the entire process.source:Enugu reporters.
