The
Nigerian Navy recently displayed gallantry as it overpowered some
dare devil hijackers over a serious gun battle to rescue a Saudi
Arabian oil tanker with its crew believed to have been taken over
since February 11th,
2016.
This
was the dramatic moment that the Nigerian Navy showed six men who
they say hijacked a Saudi Arabian oil tanker off Ivory Coast.
Bare-chested
and handcuffed, the men were paraded in front of local and
international media as the Nigerian naval officers described how they
stormed the ship on Saturday and arrested the pirates off the coast
of Sao Tome and Principe, West Africa.
Officers
engaged in a gun battle with the pirates on board, killing one of
them, the Nigerian navy said. His body was later seen being carried
from the ship on Monday at the Lagos naval base.
The
Saudi Arabian tanker, Maximus, was taken on February 11 with at least
18 crew, including 10 Indian sailors.
Two of the crew are still missing after they were taken hostage by
two pirates who escaped in another vessel. The hostages are believed
to be from India and Pakistan.
The
suspected hijackers, all Nigerians, were named as Captain Mike
Ugborama, Ayo Joshua, Marcus Adesoji, Adeyemi Paul, Oluwafemi Samuel,
and Collins Friday.
Among
the haul recovered from the ship were AK47s, magazines, bullets,
different currencies, satellite phones and even protection charms
from local traditional medicine men.
Rear
Admiral Henry Babalola told CNN the ship, chartered by a South Korean
company, was carrying 4.700 metric tons of diesel, which the pirates
hoped to sell on the black market. They had also renamed the vessel
MT-ELVIS-5 to try to avoid detection.
The
Indian defense attache, Capt. Gautam Marwaha, was at the scene to
welcome the rescued crew. He told CNN no ransom demand had been
received yet for the missing crew members.
However
he hailed the operation a "success," adding "as we say
in the Navy: 'Bravo, Zulu to the Nigerians.'"
Source:
CNN
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