The Nigerian Navy (NN) has raised an alarm over fake recruitment advertisement on social media.
The alarm was raised by the spokesman, Commodore Adams Aliu in statement circulated to newsmen.
According to him, the Navy wishes to bring to the notice of the general public the recent trend of impersonating the Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla on facebook and other social media handles by suspected scammers.
Commodore Aliu said: “It is pertinent to state that the CNS does not have a facebook account, thus any 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 seize 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.
“A notable case is that of Mrs Grace Elijah who was arrested in Landmark Hotel at Trailer Park in Eleme LGA of River State on 9 May 24 for alleged involvement in enlistment fraud.
“Mrs Grace Elijah is a member of a syndicate that collected the sum of N1,400,000 from 13 civilians with a promise to facilitate their participation in the recently concluded Direct Short Service Commission (DSSC) 29 Selection Board Exercise.
“Mrs Grace Elijah and other suspects have been handed over to the Nigeria Police and will be prosecuted accordingly.
“These deceitful practices exploit the aspirations of job seekers hence it is important for Nigerians to exercise caution and vigilance when seeking recruitment/enlistment to the NN.
“The public is also to note that authentic recruitment/enlistment processes by the NN are conducted through official channels and are well-publicized through reputable media platforms, including the official website of the NN (www.navy.mil.ng).
“For emphasis, please note that recruitment/enlistment into the NN is completely free and the NN will never ask any candidate to make any form of monetary payment throughout the entire process.”