A Magistrate court sitting in Lagos has ordered that the 15 Russian sailors who were arrested by Nigerian Navy on October 2012 over alleged importation of firearms and ammunitions into Nigeria through Lagos port be further remanded in prison custody till today, February 19, 2013, when their bail application would be heard.
A Magistrate court sitting in Lagos has ordered that the 15 Russian sailors who were arrested by Nigerian Navy on October 2012 over alleged importation of firearms and ammunitions into Nigeria through Lagos port be further remanded in prison custody till today, February 19, 2013, when their bail application would be heard.
Presiding Magistrate Oyindamola Ogalla had last week ordered that the 15 Russian seafarers be remanded in prison custody till today, saying that the date is the most appropriate since the accused have filed an application for bail before the Lagos High Court for adjournment of the matter till the same date.
The magistrate said the extension will enable the accused to be formally charged before the Lagos High Court by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
The 15 Russian sailors are Zhelyazkov Andrey 53,Savchenko Sergrey,36,Chichikanov Vasily 49,Varlygin Igor 48,Komilov Alexandr 32, Lopatin Alexey,38,Baranovsky Nikolay 50, Mishin Pavel 31,Llia Shubov 33, and Dmitry Banmyrn 40.
Others are Alexander Tsarikov 44,Kononov Sergel 44,Korotchenko Andrey 23,Vorobev Mikhail 40,and Stepan Oleksuik 52.
The hearing application of the bail application which was previously fixed for Thursday; February 14th 2013 could not hold as the prosecutor, a Superintendant of Police from special fraud unit ,Mr Effiong Asuquo urged the court to stand down the matter, that the Attorney General of the Federation had declared his intention to take over the matter.
Reacting however, counsel to the seafarers ,Mr.Segun Sipeola and Edidong Idong prayed the court to release the accused on liberal terms pending when the Attorney General and the police would be ready to file charges, adding that the accused have been in government detention for more than four months.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that security agents seized the ship; Myre Seadiver and arrested its 15 Russian crew members on suspicion of arms smuggling, after they found several guns and about 8,500 rounds of ammunition on the ship. The arrests were made on October 23, 2012.
The detention of the sailors had caught the attention of the Russian government which had recently appealed to Nigerian government to release the seamen.
Only recently too, the Seafarers Union of Russia called on labour and maritime unions in Nigeria to help intervene in the quest to ensure the release of the 15 sailors.
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