Less than one week after sea robbers attacked the patrol boat conveying the managing director of Messrs Global West Vessel Specialist; Capt Romeo Itima and others, killing the master mariner, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) yesterday paraded the suspected assailants. The deadly attack took place around the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Escravos, Delta State.
Less than one week after sea robbers attacked the patrol boat conveying the managing director of Messrs Global West Vessel Specialist; Capt Romeo Itima and others, killing the master mariner, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) yesterday paraded the suspected assailants. The deadly attack took place around the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Escravos, Delta State.
The suspects were arrested in Lagos on Saturday aboard an oil vessel; MT Ocean Treasure around the Kirikiri area of Lagos. The vessel was loaded with 300metric tonnes of illegally refined Automated Gas Oil (AGO) which was confirmed to have been loaded at Akassa in Bayelsa State.
Parading the suspected pirates in Lagos yesterday, the Public Relations Officer of NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka alleged that the pirates aboard MT Ocean Treasure fired at Capt. Itima’s crew on board NIMASA patrol boat NIMASA Burutu. She however said that the captain of the arrested vessel is still at large.
She said that the NIMASA crew of seven men and its security were on a routine patrol and also checking papers of vessels around the Escravos area for legitimacy, but added that the crew surprisingly drew fire from the bunker barge as they try to approach it for identification, this prompted a gun duel and a chase.
Tumaka further explained that after the chase which led to Capt. Itima’s death, the agency had embarked on an investigation and that it had been monitoring the activities of the vessel until it finally got to Lagos.
“It was in the course of ongoing investigation and patrols that men of the maritime guard command detained MT Treasure around Kirikiri area on Saturday 11th August and arrested all the crew members whom you are seeing today”, she disclosed.
According to her, the vessel had come to Lagos to discharge its products unknown to them that they were being trailed.
Names of the suspect could not be made public, because their lawyer vehemently refused, but the NIMASA spokesperson however said that the suspects have been identified by the crew on board.
Also speaking, the Commander of the maritime guard command, Capt. Promise Dappa explained that the suspected were held over the weekend at the western naval command and that they will be handed over to the appropriate authorities.
“NIMASA cannot detain people, we don’t even have the detention facility, so after this, they will be handed over to the relevant security agencies and they will continue with the investigation, they were kept in protective custody at the naval base over the weekend when the vessel was arrested”.
He explained that no ammunition was found on the suspects because there was a speedboat attached to the barge when the shooting started, “when they came to Lagos the speedboat was not there, we don’t know if they have discharged them or maybe the boat was escorting them and it quickly disappeared after the shooting” Capt Dappa said.
Shipping Position Daily had exclusively reported the attack on NIMASA boat and Capt Itima’s death last Thursday.
Discussion about this post