The Nigerian Navy has called on the media to join in the fight against terrorism, piracy and pipeline vandalism.
The navy also described the media as "force multipliers in modern warfare" and promised to continue to implement a press-friendly policy.
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, said this at a naval information management workshop in Lagos on Thursday.
Ezeoba, who was represented by the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ibok Ibas, said effective media relation was top priority for the navy.
He said, "The support of the media is crucial to the Armed Forces in general, in the ongoing counter-terrorism operations, particularly in the North-Eastern part of the nation. Our recent efforts and the resultant gains in combating illegalities on 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.
"The navy is committed to maintaining a cordial relationship with members of the press. The media are force multipliers in modern warfare, hence the Nigerian Navy will continue to operate a media-friendly policy."
Also, Dr. Josef Bel-Molokwu of the School of Media and Communication, Pan-African University, who delivered a paper titled, 'The potential of the social media as tools of information management by the Nigerian Navy', said the navy should embrace social media.
Bel-Molokwu said social media should be incorporated into the overall communication strategy since the Internet had become the major source of information for most people.
He said the navy could not overlook social media as it had come to stay permanently.
He said, "Social media has the potential to make the profession more global, strategic interactive, dialogical and socially responsible. However, many practitioners are using the new media the same way they use the old- as a means of dumping messages on the general population.
"Managing social media is critical. It should be incorporated into the overall communication strategy of the navy. You must also strategise to get all stakeholders on-board and must have policies and procedures.
"Best practices should be adopted and social media management tools should be used to improve on productivity."
