BY Ebunoluwa Olafusi
The Nigerian Navy says its officers have arrested four stowaways trying to illegally leave the country on board a container vessel (TEME EXPRESS) enroute Dubai.
Kolawole Oguntuga, the ship’s commander, said the stowaways were arrested on Monday by the NNS BEECROFT team during a pat+rol at the Lagos anchorage.
Oguntuga also said the maritime domain awareness facility, the falcon eye alignment, played a critical role in providing information that led to their arrest.
Oguntuga said the stowaways were found inside the rudder compartment of the vessel with bags of snacks and satchet water.
“Tactical teams were dispatched to the vessel at Lagos Anchorage, sequel to receiving information from the maritime domain awareness facility,” he said.
“Upon arrival, the teams noticed movements inside the rudder compartment, 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.”
Oguntuga said the stowaways have been handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in accordance with established protocol.
The commander said the stowaways put themselves in a life threatening situation, especially as they were in a confined space for an extended duration.
“They also present myriad of security threats to the crew with dire consequences on the image of the nation,” he said.
Oguntuga added that the navy remains committed to holistic maritime security for Nigeria’s economic prosperity.
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