On Thursday, 11 stowaways who had been detained on a Guangzhou Highway Panama vessel bound for Ghana were paraded by the Nigerian Navy ship Beecroft.
The stowaways claimed they followed the ship outside of the nation in quest of greener pastures since they believed it was headed for Europe.
The stowaways were apprehended by the NNS Beecroft patrol team on Tuesday about 7 o’clock, according to Lieutenant Commander Ayobami Tunde-Alli, who was speaking to journalists in place of Commodore Kolawole Oguntuga, the commander of NNS Beecroft.
“In a display of exceptional vigilance, the Nigerian Navy Ship Beecroft patrol team, while on routine patrol, successfully intercepted and apprehended some individuals on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, around 7 p.m. at obscured spaces of the stern gate onboard Guangzhou Highway Panama, which was en route to Ghana,” Tunde-Alli said, handing the suspects over to the Nigerian Immigration Service in Apapa on Thursday.
As a result, the Western Regional Control Center was promptly notified and ordered the ship to anchor at Lagos.
Four stowaways were initially captured from the ship’s stern. However, the information they provided showed that there were more stowaways on board the ship.