Fifteen Nigerians and a Liberian have been nabbed by the Nigerian Navy for illegally boarding a merchant vessel in a bid to go to the U.S.
The suspects – Fidelis Nsikak, Tobi Owoyele, Roland Richard, Edward Riy, Chima Eze, Arinze Pascal, Isaiah Smart, Taofeeq Lawal, Morphy Oche, Ridwan Abdulahi, Kingsley Chukwu, Suleiman Quadri, Ebuka Stephen, Ebuka Eze, Afeez Ariyo and Chikwendu Oyimedu – were said to have stayed on board the ship for about three days.
The suspects, said to be casual workers at the port, sneaked into the vessel which had come to offload cements. It was gathered that 11 mobile phones and bags containing clothes and other personal items were recovered from them.
One of the suspects, Nsikak told The Nation he had to leave the country by all means because he was tired of poverty.
“I studied Electrical Engineering but got no job. I have been trying to do menial jobs yet, things are very hard,” he said.
So, I started working casually at the port with the hope that one day, I would get the opportunity to leave this country. I was onboard the shop for three days. I entered through the terminal as a casual worker. I planned my movement and had some food items and other things in my bag,” he said.
