Attack On RSG Fishing Vessel: Navy Nab Pirates

The Navy has arrested suspected pirates that attacked a Rivers State Government fishing vessel popularly known as the Blue Whale, off the Bonny Coast.
Special Adviser to the Rivers State Governor on Aquaculture/Deep Sea Fishing, Hon. Kurotumuno Briggs who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt said the Navy also apprehended a crew member who allegedly told the pirates the location of the vessel.
Briggs said that although no casualty was recorded in the incident, the pirates broke the head of the Captain and also dispossessed the crew of their materials including fish.
The Special Adviser said that the Buguma Fish Farm was also facing some security challenges, where he said Thai nationals and Israelis recently kidnapped had all left the country, stressing that government was now searching for those that would operate the farm.
He recounted the success of the Amaechi administration in this sector in the last six years, stating that the administration was on the verge of commencing work on the fish farm in Andoni.
“We really thanked God for the past six years of the present administration. We have seen tremendous improvements in aquaculture and deep sea fishing. People now hear of aquaculture, so everyone can attest to that. As I speak to you, we are almost completing the mega fish farm we are setting up in Buguma”, the Special Adviser said.
He said that the fish farms at Buguma and Andoni would generate employment opportunities for graduates and non-graduates alike while some of the fishes produced would be exported.
Also, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS ), Vice Adm. Dele Ezeoba, yesterday said that the war on crude oil theft was yielding results, with a general decline.
In a keynote address at the Naval Information Management Workshop in Lagos, yesterday, Ezeoba noted that the achievements recorded could not have been possible without the unalloyed commitment of officers and ratings.
The CNS, represented by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Adm. Ibok Ibas, said the theme of the workshop was apt, considering the unique role of the media in its support.
“Our recent efforts and the resultant gains in combating illegalities in our waters confer a duty on our friends in the media to generate the much-needed public awareness of what the service is doing in ensuring sanity in our maritime environment.
“This is also a shared responsibility on the part of the Nigerian Navy’s information personnel who must develop capacity for leveraging the media in all facets of the Naval operations,” he said.
Ezeoba, however, restated the commitment of the Navy to maintain a cordial relationship with members of the press, noting that the media serves as a reinforcing multiplier in modern warfare.
He said that the Navy was undergoing a massive transformation, in terms of infrastructure development, platform acquisition, barracks rehabilitation, training and welfare.
Dr Josef Bel-Molukwu, of the Pan-Atlantic University, urged Nigerians to take advantage of the social media and social networking, in building its image.
He said this in his paper entitled: “The Social Media As A Tool of Information Management in the Nigerian Navy.” He noted that though social tools generally lacked management capabilities that help protect identity, security, privacy and enhance compliance needs, it could be managed properly.
According to him, research has indicated that there were 5.1 billion searches on the Internet daily, stating that it was “a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they needed from each other, rather than from traditional institutions”.
“It’s really about the relationships and the innate human desire to connect to each other, not just the technology,” he added.