Apparently irked by the nefarious activities of the sea pirates, the Nigerian Navy has inaugurated its Falcon Eye maritime surveillance system.
The Nigerian Navy Chief, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas, said the “system will reduce the cost of patrols, it gives you an accurate way of doing things. Hitherto you would have ships patrolling without a focus. Now you can sit back here and identify vessels of interest and investigate them and operations become more efficient”.
The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, said: “What the navy has done today provides us an ample opportunity to synergise and tackle the issue of piracy and other criminal activities within our waterways,”.
The Falcon Eye is a mass surveillance system designed in Israeli by Asia Global Technology but manufactured by United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Falcon Eye Technology.
It uses a number of electro-optic systems and cameras operated from a command centre to detect and pinpoint vehicular and human movements. Nigeria’s system has a range of up to 35 nautical miles from the coast and uses six electro-optical stations to monitor vessels, aircraft and offshore platforms.
Rear Admiral Raphael Osondu had earlier said the system covers blind patches in territorial waters that the Regional Maritime Awareness Capability (RMAC) system does not pick up. RMAC uses AIS and ground-based radar to track maritime traffic, and was deployed in the Gulf of Guinea in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Navy has denied reports (not media report) which suggest that syndicates purportedly operating in the name of the service are defrauding prospective candidates by directing them to pay N40,000 for placement in the 2016 recruitment exercise.
“The reports available to the service suggest that the criminal elements are operating in various locations across the country.
“In view of the above, parents, guardians and candidates have sought confirmation from the Nigerian Navy on this disturbing criminal extortion by the syndicates. Therefore, after a thorough investigation, the Nigerian Navy is requesting parents, guardians, candidates and the general public to avoid being defrauded as nobody has been mandated, directed or authorized to collect money from any candidate in the course of the 2016 recruitment exercise.
“The Nigerian Navy thereby reiterates that, as directed by the Federal Government, participation in the recruitment exercise remains free. No candidate is expected to make any form of payment for placement in the Nigerian Navy. However, the list of successful candidates which is being compiled will soon be released to the general public through appropriate channels of communication,” it stated.
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