…EXPRESSES GROWING MENACE
No fewer than 75 Stowaways have been arrested by the Nigerian Navy (NN) in nine months within the Lagos anchorage.
In a statement by the Director of Information (DINFO), Commodore Aiyuwor Adams-Aliu in Abuja on Wednesday, 17th April 2024, expressed the force’s concern about the upsurge in the cases of stowaways in Nigerian waters.
All the arrests were made between August 2023 and April 2024.
Cdre Adams-Aliu further disclosed that during the operations, the Quick Response Teams (QRT) carefully extracted the stowaways who had concealed themselves inside the rudder compartment of the vessels.
He noted that all the apprehended stowaways have been handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) by the established protocols for further necessary action.
Giving more explanation in line with the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention), added that a stowaway is someone who secretly boards a ship, or cargo without the consent of the shipowners the master, or any other responsible person.
Adding that “Migration as a stowaway is illegal, dangerous,” reemphasized that they portend security threats to shipowners.
Based on the foregoing and in line with the strategic directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, the Nigerian Navy has deployed advanced Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) equipment to vector QRT to all parts of Nigeria’s territorial waters.
However, a breakdown of the arrest indicated that in August 2023, five stowaways were arrested onboard the MSC MARTHA vessel, within the Lagos Channel. In September 2023, eight suspects were held onboard CHARMINAR PANAMA, within Lagos Fairway Buoy; while in October 2023, onboard GUANGZHOU HIGHWAY PANAMA 11 stowaways were arrested along Lagos Channel.
Also in November 2023, NATAL ship had eight suspects picked along Lagos Fairway Buoy; In December four stowaways were arrested in CONTAINER VESSEL TEME along Lagos Channel; in December 2023, two suspects in an attempt to sneak out of the country were caught on board GRANDE GUINEA vessel along Lagos Fairway Buoy, while in December 2023, on MT UOG CONSTANTINE along Lagos Channel, 14 suspects were apprehended.
Three stowaways were unlucky on January 2024 onboard FRONT ALTIERS along Lagos Fairway Buoy while in February 2024, four suspects were picked up onboard MT CHIP within the Lagos Channel. Meanwhile, in March 2024, three suspects were also nabbed on the MT ADVANTAGE LOVE Vessel along Lagos Channel; and on March 2024, nine suspects were also arrested by the Navy on MT LYSIAS VALLETTA within Lagos Fairway Buoy while in April 2024, four MT PRINCESS ERIN were Arrested within Lagos Channel.
The NN again warned members of the public about the potential dangers of attempting to travel as a stowaway.
He reminded them of the severe legal consequences and significant health risks such as the negative effects of harsh weather conditions, lack of food and water, injuries, and even death, hence the NN used the opportunity to discourage Nigerian youths from embarking on such misadventures.
