| The vessel, MT Takoradi |
The ship, which has been in the custody of the NN since January 26, 2012, was arrested for allegedly carrying about one million litres of AGO without the appropriate and license from the naval authorities.
NN personnel from Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft, upon suspicion that the vessel might have been involved in acts of illegal bunkering and economic sabotage, had arrested and detained the vessel and crew on board.
After its arrest, the NN had handed over the vessel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution although naval personnel were posted onboard the ship where it was anchored at the CMS jetty, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The commission had on October 4, 2012, charged the ship captain, Musa Mohammed and five of its crew members, before the Federal High Court, on a four-count charge of alleged illegal dealings in petroleum products.
The other accused persons, Otuagoma Freeborn, James Onubi, Hassan Adekunle, Gabriel Edet Inyang and Patrick Chinedu alongside Mohammed were arraigned before Justice Okechukwu Okeke (rdt) and were initially remanded in prison after pleading not guilty to the offence.
It was gathered that they remanded because they were unable to give a reasonable explanation about the source of the diesel which they had onboard without any clearance from NN authorities in charge of authorising vessels conveying petroleum.
Handing over the vessel to the owners, Grand Marine Oil and Gas, the Operations Officer, NNSBeecroft, Commander Sabo Lengaya, said they were mandated by the court to release the ship pending the outcome of the trial.
He said, "We are here to officially hand over the vessel, MT Takoradi to its owner, Mr. Oladapo Ogunremi. The vessel was arrested in 2012 after it was suspected of illegally carrying petroleum products and was later handed over to the EFCC for investigation and prosecution.
"But following a directive from the court that the vessel be released to its owners, we are here to obey that order and withdraw our men who have kept watch on the ship since its arrest.
"They have passed through the court procedure and for the court to ask us to release the vessel, we believe they have either been exonerated or the court in line with the charges against them, has deemed it fit for the vessel to be handed over to the owner."
In his response, Ogunremi said he was happy the vessel was being returned to them pending the determination of the case as his company had lost so much revenue since the vessel was impounded.
He said although his company was licenced to carry petroleum product, they had defaulted on that particular cargo as they had sought approval from the navy but the approval was not released before the diesel was eventually loaded.
Chiemelie Ezeobi
THISDAY Correspondent
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