A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on Monday, November 14, remanded in custody, 16 foreign nationals on a 3-court charge bothering on oil theft in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
The 16 foreigners from Poland, India, Sri-Lanka, and Pakistan were arrested along with their vessel Mt. Heroic Idun in August 2022 at Akpo Oilfield in Rivers State.
Their offences according to the charge sheet made, include “conspiracy to commit a maritime offence and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 10 of the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, 2019 and punishable under section 12 of the same Act.
The suspects were also accused to have on August 2022 at Akpo Oil Field, Rivers State within the exclusive economic zone within the jurisdiction of the court committed an offence of “falsefully pretended to become victims of maritime offence in order to evade lawful interception by Nigeria Navy ship Gongola (NNS Gongola) and Suppression of Piracy and other maritime offences Act, 2019 and punishable under section 12 of the same Act.”
