Following the hijacking of MT APECUS,
with five Indian nationals and two Nigerians on board,
the Nigerian Navy (NN) authorities on
Tuesday alleged that the vessel was on an illegal and unauthorised mission to the nation's territorial waters to
steal crude.
Consequently, the navy said it has commenced manhunt for the
Nigerian collaborators who aided the illegal entrance of the vessel and its
crew to the nation's waterways to
carryout the illicit oil deal under false pretence.
While claiming that the said vessel had been involved in
series of criminal activities on the nation's waterway since 2014, the
naval authorities noted that the
vessel had operated all those years without a valid permit or documentation.
Reacting to the report in a statement made available to
journalists, the navy assured that no stone would be left unturned in ensuring that
the Nigerian collaborators behind this dastardly act are brought to face
justice to serve as deterrent to others.
The statement read in part; "The Nigerian Navy has been
inundated with reports relating to the suspected hijack of a Palau flagged
Tanker, MT APECUS, off the coast of Bonny, Nigeria’s territorial waters".
"The alleged hijack of the vessel with IMO No. 7333810
and Call Sign No. T8WU, occurred on the 19th of April 2019 resulting in the
alleged abduction of seven crew members comprising five Indian nationals and
two Nigerians".
"The report indicated that the five Indians were
released by their abductors. It will be recalled that in a press release,
NIMASA alluded to the vessel involvement in criminality within Nigerian
waters".
"This was based on the fact that the vessel had been
conducting trading activities in Nigerian waters since 2014 without valid
permits or documentation".
"NIMASA also observed that the vessel has changed name
and the flag under which the vessel operated at least 15 times since 1993 and
made four MMSI changes which all point to her suspected involvement in illegal
activities".
"Contrary to the claims by the owners of the vessel,
the NPA Bonny Harbour Master confirmed that NPA was unaware of any request for
MT APECUS to come into harbour.
"Furthermore, it was difficult to ascertain the past
movement of the vessel as her AIS was often switched off for weeks, contrary to
standard practice".
"These developments are considered deliberate acts to
avoid detection. Investigations by the Nigerian Navy led to the arrest and
interrogation of one Mr Osimili Adah the agent of the vessel who confessed to
have been involved in the plans to use MT APECUS to lift crude oil illegally
from Nigeria".
"Mr Adah had since been handed over to the NPF for
further investigation and prosecution. These facts and other information
available point to the fact that the alleged attack on the vessel was as a
result of a business disagreement between parties engaged in crude oil
theft".
"Notwithstanding, the Nigerian Navy remains committed
to curbing the menace of crude oil theft and other forms of illegalities in
Nigeria’s and the larger Gulf of Guinea maritime domain.”
"To this end, the service is making necessary efforts
to track and debrief the released crew with the view to obtaining intelligence
for future operations towards the arrest of other collaborators in this saga.”
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