7 Filipinos, 5 Ship Crew Members Abducted by Pirates in Nigeria
FILIPINOS – Seven Filipinos were abducted in Onitsha Nigeria last Saturday, September 22.
West African nation’s maritime agency cited that the 12 people abducted in Nigeria include seafarers from Slovenia, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, and Bosnia.
Pirates do certain unfavorable acts such as stealing vessels’ goods and abducting seafarers in exchange for money. They mostly ride on their speedboats to fulfill their plans.
According to a report from Reuters, the foreigners were abducted in Niger Delta region, where most of the West African nation’s source of oil can be found.
Jake Longworth, the analyst of the EOS Risk Group, said that the abduction increased from 52 in 2016 to 75 last year. The EOS Risk Group is a professional security service company. They said the attack of the Filipinos took place at the Gulf of Guinea
Abduction on that area keep on escalating and capture even more hostages in every attack.
Longworth also added in his interview that just this first half of 2018, 35 seafarers were already abducted for ransom.
Based on a report from GMA News Online, the ship boarded by the seven Filipinos abducted was traveling between the cities Lagos and Port Harcourt. It is a Swiss merchant vessel where the 7 Filipinos were boarded.
The September 22 pirate attack was to barter the 12 ship crew members in for money. This is a very common doing in some parts of Nigeria.
The operator of the vessel said the attack occurred around 45 nautical miles southwest of Bonny Island.
Based said on the report, Sunday Umoren, the head of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, expressed that those 12 ship crews are still missing.
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