Nigerian Navy's NNS Aradu

By Senator Iroegbu

The Nigerian Navy has rescued a foreign-owned ship named,  MT ABU DHABI, which was under threat of being hijacked off the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.

This was disclosed in a statement made available Wednesday by the Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Cmdr Kabiru Aliyu.

The statement read: "MT ABU DHABI has been rescued by the Nigerian Naval Ship ZARIA. On sight of the naval ship and naval helicopter, the hijackers escaped. There was no exchange of fire. All the crew members are safe.

"The rescued ship will anchor within the Lagos harbour under naval protection until investigation is completed".

It would be recalled that the Nigerian Navy with other security/regulatory agencies have been battling with increasing threats in our maritime areas including piracy, oil thuggery, and robbery amongst others.

The Nigerian Navy has also increased its alert readiness to combat maritime crimes and in recent time embarked on joint exercises with other countries in the Gulf of Guinea including the recent operation OBANGAME.