The Nigerian Navy has announced the rescue of seven Russian sailors and one Ukrainian national who were kidnapped last month off the Niger Delta coast.
This was disclosed by Navy spokesman Captain Suleman Dahun who told AFP on Monday that the freed sailors have been returned to their respective countries.
“The foreign sailors, including seven Russians and one Ukrainian, have been rescued. They were rescued by our operatives in Delta state,” Captain Dahun said.
Though he failed to state whether ransom was paid, he added that they were “unhurt and they are back in their countries,” Punch writes
The sailors were abducted on February 5 after their cargo vessel, the BBC Caribbean, was attacked by sea pirates in the Niger Delta region.
Three of their colleagues who remained on board managed to evade the pirates and took the multipurpose vessel, which belongs to German company Briese Schiffahrt, to Russia after making a stop in Las Palmas in Spain.
This is yet another commendable intervention by the Nigerian Navy, as ship hijackings have become more rampant in the volatile Niger Delta region.
It will be recalled that last August the Navy rescued 13 foreign crew members on a British ship while 47 stowaways were nabbed on a merchant ship in December.
