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| Chief of Army Staff and President |
The
Defence Headquarters on Tuesday vowed that some suspected Pro-Biafran
militants, who hijacked a merchant vessel off the coast of Nigeria on Friday
would be treated as criminals and saboteurs.
The
ship, believed to be an oil tanker, was said to have been hijacked by some
militants, who issued a 31-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to release
the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.
While
some maritime industry sources claimed that the vessel was an oil tanker seized
about 160 kilometres off the Bakassi Peninsula near the border with Cameroon,
the Defence Headquarters said on Tuesday that the ship was seized about 7.5
nautical miles off the Port of Cotonou.
The
suspected pro-Biafran militants had hijacked the foreign merchant ship and
threatened to blow it up with its crew if the Federal Government failed to
release Kanu.
It
was learnt that the 31-day ultimatum by the militants was given at the weekend
by one ‘General Ben.’
Kanu
is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services for running an illegal
organisation (IPOB), threatening to break away from Nigeria to create an
independent country; importing radio transmitters and making inciting and
seditious statements, while his co-accused persons had been charged with
possession of firearms.
Defence
sources, who claimed knowledge of the hijacking on Tuesday, explained that the
operatives of the Nigerian Navy were on the trail of the captured vessel and
the hijackers.
One
of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the hijackers had
threatened to blow up the ship and its crew members if the government refused
to release Kanu, who is currently being detained and undergoing prosecution for
treasonable felony, after 31 days.
The
Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, confirmed on Tuesday
that some militants hijacked a vessel on Friday off the Nigerian coast, but
threatened that the military would deal decisively with those he called
criminals and saboteurs.
He
said the vessel, named MT LEON DIAS, was hijacked outside Nigeria’s territorial
waters about 7.5 nautical miles off the Port of Cotonou, adding that the vessel
was under the watch of the Navy of Benin Republic.
Abubakar
added, “Well, I can confirm to you that a vessel, a tanker with the name MT
LEON DIAS with number 9279927, was hijacked 7.5 nautical miles off Cotonou
port. The ship is presently in Benin Republic. It is a merchant ship.
“I
must add that on this issue of militancy, there are no more militants now, what
we have are criminals. The Amnesty programme has taken care of the militants.
“The
military will treat those behind such acts as criminal and saboteurs; the law
will take its course; the security agencies will do their job.
“The
country’s interest is above any other person’s interest. We have to work
towards the enthronement of peace and stability because development can only
take place in an atmosphere of peace.”
He
said the military would treat those behind such crimes in the nation’s maritime
domain as criminals and saboteurs.
Abubakar
admitted that there “were some sort of threats,” but he was not specific on the
31-day ultimatum issued by the hijackers.
A
Bulgarian-based Maritime News had said, “The group boarded the tanker from two
fast boats and took control of the vessel and locked the crew in the mess room
before heading for the Niger Delta,” reports AP.
A
factional leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of a Sovereign State of
Biafra, Uchenna Madu, had also explained that the said ‘General Ben’ was one of
the Niger Delta militants, who had volunteered to join forces with the
secessionists groups.
“Ben
is not a separatist but some Niger Delta militants have shown interest in
working with us,” said Madu.
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