Navy foils 3 pirates attacks on two vessels

The Nigerian Navy yesterday said its troops deployed for a regional sea exercise code named Obangame foiled three attacks by pirates on some merchant ships doing business within the country’s territorial waters.

The Navy also said combined efforts from regional navies led to the arrest of about eight people who had hijacked a fishing trawler off the coast of Togo.

The Nigerian Navy Chief of Transformation, Rear Admiral Begroy IbeEnwo, made this disclosure yesterday at the end of a weeklong yearly regional sea exercise.

Admiral Ibe-Enwo, who is also the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command, said the first attack which was foiled by troops on board the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS), OKPABANA, occurred off the Bayelsa waters.

He said that the captain of the ship, around 9pm got a distress call from two merchant ships around the Agbra oil field in Bayelsa that they were under pirates’ attack.

He said, “The pirates opened fire on the naval war ship, but were forced to beat a retreat by the superior fire power of the naval war ship. The sea robbers abandoned the operation and fled.”

Admiral Ine-Enwo said as of that was not enough, the captain of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) UNITY, got another distress call about the hijack of a fishing trawler off the coast of Togo, but that the hijacked vessel was quickly recovered.