The Nigerian navy has decried the spate of inaccurate news around piracy activities in the Gulf of Guinea.
In a statement by naval spokesman, Suleman Dahun today, the navy lamented that the ‘inaccurate’ reports if not checked, would discourage maritime traffic as wel as heighten freight and insurance cost in the region.
According to Dahun, “The Nigerian Navy wishes to alert the general public and the Nigerian media in particular, on inaccurate and unverified news reports on the rate of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). ‘These reports are a deliberate ongoing effort to discourage maritime traffic as well as heighten freight and insurance cost in the Region. A case in point is the reported hijack of a vessel, MV ODIANOSEN by a notable maritime information media source, Dryad Global,9p which turned out to be false and alarmist.
“Notwithstanding these alarmist reports, the Nigerian Navy wishes to reiterate its commitment to partnering with all strategic and allied partners for a safer and crime free GoG. Thus, all Nigerian media organisations/agencies are please advised to be wary of any calculated attempt at tarnishing the image of the nation in furtherance of an untoward maritime agenda”.