Navy says operation ‘Tsare Teku’ has reduced piracy, hostage taking

The Nigerian Navy on Tuesday said Operation “Tsare Teku” had reduced piracy and hostage taking in the country’s water ways close to zero per cent.
The Director of Information, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Christian Ezekobe, made the disclosure during a familiarisation visit to the News Agency of Nigeria headquarters in Abuja.
Ezekobe said there were two incidences of piracy within the first 90 days, which showed that there would be a zero incidence report in the next 90 days.
He said all Naval Commands had a mandate to put at least one platform to sea each day, aside the ongoing operation Tsare Teku.
He said the initiative had tremendously increased the presence of the Navy in the country’s waters.
The spokesman said there were Special Forces engaged in the fight against insurgents in the North East that carried out specific missions.
“We also have Special Forces , just like the US SEAL, engaged in the North-East, they carry out specific missions and get out,” he said.
Ezeoke said the Navy was putting house boats in the various junctions of the creeks and rivers to check activities of miscreants, illegal bunkerers and crude oil thieves.
He said: “We also have challenges with kidnapping and hostage taking from vessels that ply our waters, which resulted in us initiating operation Tsare Teko, which ran for 90 days.”
Ezeoke said the delegation was in NAN to appreciate the support the Navy had been getting from the agency.
He said: “We are essentially here to pay our respect to you and to state that we have enjoyed a very fruitful relationship with NAN.
“The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, has been duly publicised by the media, NAN not being an exception.”
Responding, the Managing Director of NAN, Bayo Onanuga, assured Ezeoke that the agency was ever ready to support the Navy in its operations.
Onanuga said: “NAN is always ready to assist all other sister agencies.
“As you know, our platform is the biggest single news agency in the country.
“We are ever ready to be of assistance to the Navy.
“We actually feed other newspapers, all the bloggers, most of the things you read there are from NAN.”
Onanuga said he was not happy whenever he read in the international media that the Gulf of Guinea was not safe.
The managing director expressed satisfaction with the existing inter-agency collaboration in the country.
NAN.