The Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS, BEECROFT on Wednesday announced the arrest of eleven suspects said to have attempted to stowaway in a vessel to Europe.
This disclosure was made in Lagos by the Commanding Officer NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Abraham Adaji, while addressing journalists at the Apapa area of the state.
Adaji said, “The suspects: Joseph Emmanuel, Samuel Jodge, Paul Oguns, Stephen Cooper, Akinwunmi Jeflando, Jalo Cooper, Pope Olu, Dan Gogo, Jacob James, Ade Samadin and James Akinbami, were arrested at about 12:30 a.m. on March 11 for attempting to stowaway in a vessel to Europe.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrested persons illegally boarded the Merchant Vessel, CITRON, berthed at Capital Oil Jetty, Apapa, through the rudder trunk access manhole in a bid to travel with the vessel to Europe.
“They were detected and subsequently arrested by our patrol boat,” he said.
One of the suspected stowaways, Jalo Cooper, blamed frustration for his attempt to travel abroad through illegal means.
Meanwhile, another suspect, Pope Olu said he was not happy with his standard of living which prompted him to attempt to enter Europe illegally.
While calling on criminally-minded Nigerians and other nationals to seek legitimate employment instead of engaging themselves in illegal activities, Commodore Adaji added that the suspects had been handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, for further investigation and prosecution.
He also disclosed that the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice-Adm. Ikot Ibas, had zero tolerance for all maritime crimes in Nigeria’s waters.
A representative of the NIS and Chief Superintendent, Mr. Lekan Olagunju, received the alleged stowaways from the Navy, noting that investigations would continue with a view to ascertaining claims of their nationalities before they could be prosecuted.
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