FILE PHOTO: Suspected pirates are paraded aboard a naval ship after their arrest by the Nigerian Navy at a defence jetty in Lagos August 20, 2013. Commodore Chris Ezekobe, naval commander at the NNS Beecroft, a Lagos naval base, said the four had hijacked the barge and its crew on August 14 on the eastern edge of the Nigerian coast, near the port city of Calabar. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye (NIGERIA – Tags: CRIME LAW MARITIME)
The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT on Wednesday in Lagos said it had arrested an impersonator and 11 suspects for allegedly attempting to stow away in a vessel to Europe.
The Commanding Officer NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Abraham Adaji, made the disclosure when he addressed journalists at Apapa, Lagos.
He gave the names of the suspects as Akinwunmi Jeflando, Pope Olu, Jacob James, Samuel Jodge, Ade Samadin, Dan Gogo, James Akinbami, Paul Oguns, Joseph Emmanuel, Stephen Cooper and Jalo Cooper.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrested persons boarded the vessel, CITRON, through the rudder trunk access manhole in a bid to travel with the vessel to Europe,” Adaji said.
“The suspects were arrested at about 12:30 a.m. on March 11 for illegally boarding Merchant Vessel CITRON berthed at Capital Oil Jetty, Apapa, Lagos.
“They were detected and subsequently arrested by our patrol boat,” Adaji said.
NAN reports that Adaji handed over the suspects to the Nigeria Immigration Service for further investigation and prosecution.
He also said that the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice-Adm. Ikot Ibas, had zero tolerance for all maritime crimes in Nigeria’s waters.
He called on criminally-minded Nigerians and other nationals to seek legitimate employment instead of engaging themselves in illegal activities.
One of the stowaways, Olu said he was not happy with his standard of living which prompted him to attempt to enter Europe illegally.
Another stowaway, Cooper, blamed frustration for his attempt to …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
