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General News of Wednesday, 7 July 2021

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Seven Nigerians sentenced to jail in Togo for attempting to hijack ship

Jail Jail

Seven Nigerians have been sentenced to prison after an attempt to hijack a ship in Togolese waters went wrong.

They were part of a team that was made up of 10 pilates, including one Ghanaian national and two Togolese nationals.

They were on trial for “maritime piracy, wilful violence and groups of criminals”.

According to reports, they have all been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12 to 20 years during a trial at the court.

One Togolese national was acquitted while the other eight pirates were given sentences from 12 to 15 years.

The Ghanian, who is on the run and facing an international arrest warrant, was sentenced on Monday night to 20 years in prison.

The group were accused of attacking the tanker G-DONA 1 during the night of May 11, 2019, Guardian reports

During the trial, the prosecutor Kodjo Gnambi Garba was quoted as saying, “People should understand that piracy and armed robbery at sea will be punished. And for these sea offences, we will be uncompromising.”

According to a recent report by the International Maritime Bureau, the Gulf of Guinea, which stretches along 5,700 kilometres (3,500 miles) of coastline, accounted for 130 of the 135 kidnappings of seafarers recorded worldwide last year.