Four stowaways onboard a container vessel, TEME EXPRESS, heading to Dubai, United Arab Emirates have been rounded up by the patrol team of the Nigerian Navy Ship BEECROFT.
The Base Information Officer, NNS BEECROFT, H. A Collins, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, November 15.
He gave the names of the stowaways as 18-year-old Michael Daniel from Ondo State; Ebi Agrive, 22 years old from Bayelsa State; 23-year-old Lucky Amusu from Lagos State, and 28-year-old Goodness Edu from Akwa Ibom State.
According to the Commander, NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Kolawole Oguntuga, quoted in the statement, the arrest was made on November 13 through information from the Maritime Domain Awareness Facility.
The statement read in part;
“The NNS BEECROFT patrol team while on a routine patrol successfully extracted and apprehended some individuals on Monday, November 13, onboard a container vessel TEME EXPRESS which was en route to Dubai. The tactical teams were dispatched to the vessel at the Lagos Anchorage, the sequel to receiving information from the Maritime Domain Awareness Facility, the Falcon Eye Alignment.
Upon arrival, the team noticed movements inside the rudder compartment. Consequently, the teams boarded the ship located and extracted the four stowaways.”
The statement revealed that the stowaways had bags that contained snacks and sachet water.
“The stowaways were found with a bag filled with snacks and another poly bag containing sachet water. They are identified as: Ebi Agrive, 22 years old from Bayelsa State; 23-year-old Lucky Amusu from Lagos State; 28-year-old Goodness Edu from Akwa Ibom State and 18-year-old Michael Daniel from Ondo State. They have been handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service by the established protocols. These stowaways put 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,” the statement further read.
