The Nigerian Navy has said that its Ship, Beecroft patrol team on routine patrol intercepted a Container Vessel TEME Express en route Dubai and arrested four stowaways.
The navy made this known on Wednesday in a statement issued by its Base Information Officer, Sub-Lieutenant H. A. Collins, adding that the Commander NNS Beecroft, Commodore Kolawole Oguntuga, noted that tactical teams were dispatched to the vessel at Lagos Anchorage, sequel to receiving information from the Maritime Domain Awareness Facility, the Falcon Eye Alignment.
According to him, upon arrival, the teams noticed movements inside the rudder compartment, and consequently, the teams boarded the ship located and extracted the four stowaways.
“The stowaways were found with a bag filled with snacks and another polybag containing sachet water,” he stated.
The Stowaways were identified as 22-year-old Ebi Agrive from Bayelsa state; 23-year-old Lucky Amusu from Lagos state; 28-year-old Goodness Edu from Akwa Ibom state and 18-year-old Micheal Daniel from Ondo state.
“They were handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in accordance with the established protocols.
“The Commander further stated that apart from the stowaways putting themselves in life threatening situations during the long voyage at sea especially as they remain in a confined space for extended duration, the stowaways also present a myriad of security threats to the crew with dire consequences on the image of the nation.
“This arrest and handover therefore is another testament of the Nigerian Navy's unwavering commitment and resolve under the leadership of Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral E. I. Ogalla, towards holistic maritime security for economic prosperity of Nigeria,” Collins added.