Nigerian Navy's Heroics Comes to Light as Analyst Warns Senior Journalists Against Fake News
- The Nigerian Navy's achievements in the Niger Delta region has come to light following revelations by an analyst
- The Navy’s offshore surveillance and operations has in recent months uncovered attempts at unlicensed loading of gas
- The analyst warned against fake news against the armed forces as they rid the country of oil thieves through their operations
FCT, Abuja - A public affairs analyst, Musa Ilallah has berated Reuben Abati and Oseni Rufai of Arise TV for their comments about MT Heroic Idun, the rogue vessel that has recently been in the news in Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.
In an article sent to Legit.ng on Monday, November 21, Ilallah accused the journalists of peddling several falsehoods and distorting facts that are already in the public domain on the issue.
Source: Depositphotos
His words:
“Dr Reuben Abati opined that MT Heroic Idun should be charged for theft of Nigeria’s crude. He actually cited a most ridiculous figure of 300 million liters of crude – asking why the charges filed against the ship and crew in court did not include one for oil theft.
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“Abati, ignorantly or mischievously asked: “What happened to the crude oil that was stolen?” He also claimed that the vessel was brought back empty. This is totally false, and Abati is guilty of what should be rightly tagged ‘beer-parlour talk’.
“The fact is that there was no theft or lifting of Nigerian crude oil at the time the MT Heroic Idun was intercepted by the Nigerian Navy.”
While reiterating that the attempt at unlicensed/unauthorised loading of crude oil was foiled by the Navy, the analyst noted that a cross section of the Nigerian media attested to the fact that the vessel owners and the operators of the Akpo Oil Field, chartered the ship.
He added that any suggestion that there was a theft of Nigerian crude is imaginary and false, adding that oil theft is not among the charges filed against the vessel.
He further said:
“For the avoidance of doubt, the vessel is owned by Messrs. Idun Maritime Ltd, with Messrs Inchcape Shipping as its agent in Nigeria, and OSM Ship Management AS as the vessel manager.
“All of this is in the public domain, there is nothing secret about it. Abati and Oseni only needed to do a simple Google search and they would have found answers to every one of the questions they raised on the show.
“Dr Abati also identified the need to uncover all those promoting crude oil theft, maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and the Gulf of Aden.
“Is he not aware of the fact that in the last one year, Nigeria has been delisted from the list of piracy prone states by the International Maritime Bureau, IMB?
“Is he totally ignorant of the giant strides of the Federal Government through the Nigerian Navy in this regard? This is news that has been widely reported, even by Arise TV itself.”
He also noted that:
“The Nigerian Navy has patriotically been at the forefront of curbing crude oil theft with the launch of Operation DAKATAR DA BARAWO in Rivers on April 1, 2022 in synergy with the NNPC Limited.
“The successes so far recorded have been significant. So far oil thieves have been denied oil products to the tune of more than N35 billion and still counting.
“In addition to the interception of MT Heroic Idun, the Nigerian Navy’s offshore surveillance and operations has in recent months uncovered similar attempts at unlicensed loading of gas by MT Vivit Arabia in July 2022 and attempted unlicensed loading of crude oil by MT Trinity Arrow also in July 2022 – both of which happened in the Bonny area.”
On Rufai comments, Illalah said:
“Mr. Oseni Rufai also echoed similar fake news and misrepresentations as Dr. Abati, alluding to non-existent ‘stolen crude’, and generally revealing ignorance and mischief about maritime issues.
“Oseni equally revealed gaps in his knowledge about the differences between creeks, channels, estuaries and the open ocean.
“It behooves on these 'distinguished' senior journalists to be more circumspect in their analysis and discussions on national television. They have a big and important platform, that comes with a lot of responsibility. It must never be misused.”
He urged the journalists to take a trip to the Niger Delta to better understand the issues that they discuss on air.
Drug trafficking story: APC's PCC calls for sanctions against Arise TV, Channels TV
Recall that the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) recently petitioned the National Broadcasting Commission to take actions against Arise Television and Channels Television for airing programmes to allegedly disparage its candidate, Bola Tinubu.
Bayo Onanuga, spokesman of the PCC in a statement seen by Legit.ng on Monday, November 14 said one of its officials and former commissioner of information in Lagos state, Dele Alake, authored the petition against the two television stations.
Alake said the two stations allowed guests on their shows to label Tinubu as “indicted” despite the evidence available to them.
Tinubu was neither indicted nor convicted of drug trafficking - Fani-Kayode
On his part, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a member of the APC presidential campaign council has stated that Tinubu was neither indicted nor convicted of drug trafficking or anything else in the United States of America or anywhere else.
Fani-Kayode made the comment in a Facebook post on Wednesday, November 9 in response to recent media reports that a U.S. court released certified true copies of Tinubu's alleged drug dealing, money laundering case in Chicago.
The former minister of aviation blamed the reports on opposition parties in the country.
Source: Legit.ng
