Navy parades four pirates in Lagos

The Nigerian Navy on Tuesday paraded four
suspected sea robbers who had allegedly
hijacked a barge (huge boat) MV Crow, on
August 14, 2013 at Escravos River located
on the Gulf of Guinea.
The PUNCH had reported that the men of the
Nigerian Navy killed some sea robbers
during a 30-minute gun duel on August 16.
The Commander, NNS Beecroft, Commodore
Chris Ezekobe, said while addressing
journalists at the Defence Jetty in Lagos that
shortly after the hijack, the navy was alerted
by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency
He said, "We were alerted by NIMASA's
Regional and Maritime Awareness Centre
and we pursued the vessel to Aiyetoro in
Ondo State. When we circled her, there was
no sign of life on board. We called and
radioed several times but there was no
response. Of course, our suspicion was
aroused and then we fired shots into the
air. Once they heard the shots, the sea
robbers came out and threw their weapons
into the water."
Ezekobe said in a bid to secure the nation's
waters, the navy recently acquired four
Shaldag and four Ocean boats and three
mantra class boats to patrol the waterways.
He said, "If the acquisition of more vessels
are maintained, our waters would be safer.
The International Maritime Bureau has listed
our country as the second next to Somalia
and we are working assiduously to change
that perception.
"But it is pertinent to state that our
challenge in Nigeria is sea robbery as
opposed to piracy which is obtained in
Somalia. We have over 6,000 creeks
between Lagos and Calabar and it is easier
for the sea robbers to attack and slip back
to the creeks."