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| Chief of the Naval Staff; Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba. |
About three months after killing 12 pirates who had hijacked an oil tanker; MT Norte, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, said yesterday that the Nigerian Navy had concluded investigation on the suspects apprehended in connection with the hijacked vessel.
Ezeoba made this known to newsmen during his 2013 Annual Inspection tour of
some facilities of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta.
He said the four suspected sea pirates would soon be handed over to the
appropriate quarters for prosecution.
The vessel was salvaged by five naval gunboats and NNS OBULA from the
Central and Western Naval Command on Aug. 17.
In the rescue operation, 12 out of the 16 sea pirates were allegedly killed
in a gun duel and four others were arrested.
The vessel, was carrying 17,000 Metric Tons of Petrol Motor
Spirit (PMS) when it was hijacked by suspected sea pirates in the Gulf of
Guinea on August 15th 2013.
While giving an insight into how the ship was rescued, the
Flag Officer Commanding the Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Sidi-Ali
Hassan, had said in Yenagoa that upon receiving the report, the Navy alerted
NNS Andoni and NNS Ikot Abasi.
Six gun boats and NNS Delta in Warri and the Naval operation
base in Egweama, Brass in Yenagoa were deployed in the rescue operation.
According to Rear Admiral Hassan, "Eight NN vessels
were used in pursuit of the hijacked MT Norte with 16 suspected pirates on
board. The participating ships eventually shadowed the hijacked vessel and
forced her back into Nigerian waters”.
"An agreed drop point was reached but the suspected
militants refused to disembark as earlier agreed, obviously playing for time
and darkness to set in”, he had explained.
“They finally agreed
to disembark from MT Norte at 2045hrs on 17th of August, 2013 on condition that
only one Naval vessel would remain in the vicinity of the MT Norte”, he added.
Hassan further explained that after disembarking from the
ship, the pirates then tried to escape through the coastline, but the naval
formation in Badagry pursued the boat as the pirates engaged NNS Badagry in a
gun battle.
“Four of the militants were alive and unhurt while the rest
of the pirates were killed in the cross fire,” he said. “The four survivors, their belongings and
three AK 47 rifles were recovered and brought on board NNS Badagry base."
On the possible recovery of the bodies of the suspected
pirates, Usman said the survivors who are currently detained at the NNS Delta
have made confessions which are helping the Navy in its investigation.
On his visit, Ezeoba said the aim of the on the spot assessment was to
identify the areas that needed improvement to enhance the command’s service
delivery.
``The tour is to enable us assess our input at the same time determine other
areas that need attention to enhance service delivery, particularly in the
areas of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.
``I am impressed with what is on ground, but there is still room for
improvement.
``The various units of the command have also been told on what to do in
other to add value to their job,’’ he said.
The CNS attributed the calmness in the Niger Delta region to the strategic
measure put in place by the command and the support by President Good luck
Jonathan.
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