Navy Nabs 15 Russians: For Illegal Arms Smuggling …As Gunmen Abduct Turk In Rivers

The Nigerian Navy has confirmed the arrest of “MV Myre Seadiver”, a Russian vessel, on suspicion of carrying arms and ammunition at the Lagos roadstead.

Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Rear-Adm Ameen Ikioda, told newsmen in Lagos that the vessel was arrested on Saturday by naval patrol boats.

According to him, 15 crew members of the vessel, mostly Russians, were arrested on board the ship which was flying Dutch Island flag.

Ikioda alleged that some of the arms recovered were assorted 14 AK 47 rifles with 3,643 ammunition; 22 barrel rifles, with 4,955 ammunition and an arm, called Benelli MR1, with 20 rifles.

“We discovered that the vessel came into our waters without due notification and has some weapons inside which is an infringement on the laws of Nigeria,’’ he said.

The Navy said it found several guns and about 8,500 rounds of ammunition on the boat on Nigerian waters.

The vessel was intercepted over the weekend in Lagos, Navy spokesman, Commodore Aliyu Kabiru said by telephone.

It belongs to the Moran Security Group, based in Moscow, he added.

There was no immediate comment from Moran.

“The vessel was carrying 8,598 ammunition and different rifles. Investigations are still ongoing,” he said. He gave no further details.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, has emphasised Navy’s commitment to eradicating illegal bunkering and oil theft.

Ezeoba, who was on two-day official visit to naval formations in Lagos, said the Naval High Command was ready to move the Nigerian Navy forward.

He said that the Navy would as from the next two weeks focus on areas such as infrastructure and capacity building.

A Navy source, who could not be named, said 22 Benelli MR1 rifles and several other automatic weapons were found.

Arms smuggling is a flourishing enterprise in Nigeria, which is battling an Islamist insurgency in the North, organised armed robbery and kidnapping gangs in the South South, and oil thieves and pirates in the South South.

The country is also sometimes used as a conduit for shipping arms into other parts of West Africa or the world.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Navy, NNS Pathfinder has handed over four persons suspected to be crude oil thieves to the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.

The suspects were accused of their involvement in illegal oil activities at Ererekiri creek in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The commanding Officer, NNS Pathfinder in Rumuolumeni, Rivers State Vincent Fabi while handing over the suspects, said they were caught after their vessel caught fire at the scene of the crime.

He also said the suspects were traced and arrested through one of the bunkerers who was injured by the fire that engulfed the vessel at the bunkering scene on September 30, 2012.

At about 0120 hours while siphoning the crude, the vessel caught fire, the inferno that ensured killed  some of the perpetrators while one sustained about 30 per cent burn, but however, the number of people that were affected in the inferno could not be ascertained.

An officer in Bonny was informed that there was a burnt injury patient in the channel clinic who was admitted. Upon further investigations, four persons suspected to be linked with the fire incident were arrested and brought to NNS Pathfinder for investigation hence Pathfinder subjected the four suspects to interrogation to ascertain their level of involvement in connection with the crude oil theft at Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) well in Ererekiri Creek in Bonny Island, he said.

Meanwhile, the Joint Military Taskforce in the Niger Delta says 16 crew members arrested on board two vessels on the coast of Bonny, Rivers State, for illegal oil bunkering activities are now facing interrogation.

The commanding officer of the JTF, Operation Pulo Shield, Brig-Gen Tukur Buratai said the vessels, MT Theresa Lagos containing 60,000 metric tonnes of diesel valued at N11.294 million and MT Pecos Peters Lagos were intercepted while trying to load substances  suspected to be illegally processed crude oil.

Brig-Gen Buratai, represented by the Chief of Staff, 2 Bridge Nigerian Army, Col Gold Ndubuisi told newsmen that the two vessels were arrested on the 17th and 18th of this month.

The Tide learnt that all the 16 crew members in the two vessels are Nigerians.

The JTF said it is taking appropriate investigations to see that anyone involved in encouraging oil theft is arrested and made to account for their actions, and called on the public to report anyone involved in oil theft and illegal refining of crude oil to security agencies in the state.

Capt Christian Okupe, who led soldiers during the operation, said the vessels were arrested because they did not have permit to transport petroleum products.

In another deveopment, a Turkish expatriate who is an earth moving supervisor with Rivigo JVC Nigerian Limited, the contracting firm handling the Ogoni-Opobo-Andoni Unity Road, was at the early hours of yesterday (Tuesday) abducted by unknown gunmen.

Mr Baran Karakus was abducted along the Nkoro axis of the Unity Road while on duty.

According to sources, Mr Karakus was in the company’s Hilux car when the gunmen in a 190 Mercedes Benz car, attacked and whisked him away to an unknown destination.

Meanwhile, the two chairmen of Opobo/Nkoro and Andoni local government areas yesterday visited the company’s camp situated along the on-going Unity Road.

In their separate speeches at the company, the council chairmen assured that they would put all security apparatus in place to ensure early release of the  abducted expatriate.

According to them, the authorities of the two local government councils will spread their tentacles and beef up security to ensure early release of Karakus, calling on the staffers of the company to go about their normal duties as a searchlight has been put on ground to bring the perpetrators to book.

Describing the action as the handiwork of enemies of progress, who do not like development of the areas, they said , “ as much as we condemn the barbaric act, more security will be put in place to fish out the hooligans behind the kidnap while concerted efforts will be made to release Mr Karakus as quickly as possible”.

Responding, the Assistant Project Manager of the company, Engr Fidelis Esemene expressed gratitude to the council bosses for their concern, appealing to them to do everything at their disposal to ensure the early release of their staff as well as  forestall future occurrence.

Shedie Okpara

Minister of Sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi (right), with the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at the Presidential Sports Sector Retreat in Abuja, on Monday