) The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT patrol team on Monday said it had apprehended four individuals trying to illegally leave the country onboard Container Vessel TEME EXPRESS enroute Dubai.
The ships’ Commander, Commodore Kolawole Oguntuga, told newsmen in Lagos that the Maritime Domain Awareness Facility, the Falcon Eye Alignment, played a critical role in providing information that led to their arrest.
Oguntuga identified the stowaways as: Ebi Agrive, 22, Lucky Amusu, 23, Goodness Edu, 28, and Micheal Daniel, 18 years old.
“Tactical teams were dispatched to the vessel at Lagos Anchorage, sequel to receiving information from the Maritime Domain Awareness Facility.
“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,” the commander said.
Oguntuga said the stowaways had been handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in accordance with established protocols.
The Commander further stated that stowaways put themselves in life threatening situations during long voyage at sea, especially as they remained in confined spaces for extended duration.
“They also present myriad of security threats to the crew with dire consequences on the image of the nation,” he said.
Oguntuga said the Nigerian Navy remained committed towards holistic maritime security for economic prosperity of the country under the leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla.
