Six Nigerians have been arrested in connection with last Sunday’s hijack of a product tanker off Togo. Arrested alongside the Nigerians were two Togolese.
According to reports from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) and the Togolese government, the fully-armed Nigerian pirates and their Togolese collaborators had Sunday night, used a rented canoe to board the Togolese-flagged product tanker; Djetona 1 at anchorage off the port of Lome in Togo.
The attackers hijacked the vessel and took her crew hostage.
Shortly afterwards, the Togo Navy received a call from the ship's owners, who reported that their tanker had been attacked.
The navy responded by dispatching its patrol boats to investigate. The tanker was intercepted 25 nm from the anchorage area and forced to return to Lome.
But, the government of Togo announced that its forces had thwarted the attack.
The crew were reported safe, and the suspects – two Togolese nationals and six Nigerians were handed over to the authorities.
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