Hundreds of unsuspecting and unemployed youths are being duped by illegal maritime training schools scattered across the country, so says the Nigeria Navy when its operatives uncovered one of such schools at a discreet location in Ogun state.
The school, which is being promoted by an illegal group known as the Merchant Maritime Transport Safety Association has been sealed off by the Navy.
The Navy specifically accused he promoters of the illegal school of creating an institution that is using a similar logo with that of the Nigerian Navy
Hundreds of unsuspecting and unemployed youths are being duped by illegal maritime training schools scattered across the country, so says the Nigeria Navy when its operatives uncovered one of such schools at a discreet location in Ogun state.
The school, which is being promoted by an illegal group known as the Merchant Maritime Transport Safety Association has been sealed off by the Navy.
The Navy specifically accused he promoters of the illegal school of creating an institution that is using a similar logo with that of the Nigerian Navy
The group has also being accused of illegally training Nigerian youths on military activities and rescue operations.
The group is also being accused of infringing on the constitutional roles of the Nigerian Navy, Marine Police, NIMASA, Customs and other government agencies in the maritime sector.
Parading the suspects in Lagos, the Western Naval Command Operation Officer, Commodore Henry Babalola told journalists that they have already swindled unsuspecting youths to the tune of N14 million, being proceeds that accrued from the sale of recruitment forms into the illegal school.
Commodore Babablola who described the illegal use of the logo of the Nigeria Navy as 'worrisome' when the security situation in the country is considered, added that while the Nigerian Navy had "Onward Together' as its motto, the group, had 'Onward Forever' as its own logo.
He stated that members of the public are being misled into believing that it is affiliated to the Navy
Giving an insight into how the group was arrested, Commodore Babalola said that “the group was to commence sales of another set of forms at N5, 000 each. They were detained when they wrote a letter to the Nigerian Navy for support” According to him, “the association, though registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission, is a dubious association seeking relevance in the nation's maritime sector.”
One of the suspects, a 38 year-old Bayelsa born who identified himself as Godwin Awuku, also identified himself as leader of the new faction of the group, saying that he was not aware that the act was illegal. He claimed to be a graduate of World Maritime University in Ghana.
“ We wrote a letter to introduce the organization to the Nigerian Navy for recruitment and transport. We are into transport, security and our aim is to support government agencies for marine transport. We have an agenda to help NIMASA. We have a base at Erewe in Ojo local government area of Lagos”, he confirmed.
The naval boss however argued that “in view of the prevailing security situation in the country coupled with the menace of sea robbers and other criminal elements in the nation's maritime environment, there is urgent need for the CAC to de-register the association."
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