The
captain of the ship, MV Myre Seadiver used for the importation of the arms and
ammunition was arraigned separately for unlawfully entering Nigeria
through Nigeria’a territorial waters without due clearance and declaration of
the goods carried on board of ship.
The
Russians who could not understand English brought an interpreter from the
Russian Embassy to interpret the charge to them. They all pleaded not guilty.
Consequently,
their lawyer, Chike Okafor and two other lawyers told the court that they have
filed bail application and the prosecutor has been served.
However,
the prosecutor, Mr. Ezebilo, told the court he was served this morning,
therefore, he needed two days to file his response.The presiding judge while
acceding to the request of the prosecutor, adjourned till 25 February when the
bail application will be heard.
The Russian ship was seized on
October 19 off the coast of Lagos by a naval patrol. Weapons found on the
vessel included 14 AK-47 rifles with 3,643 rounds of ammunition as well as 22
Benelli MR1rifles with 4,955 rounds of ammunition.
The
intended destination or planned use of the arms was not clear.
In
December, Russia’s foreign ministry said it had reached a deal to secure the
release of the sailors, explaining that Nigeria had agreed to drop the case to
preserve cordial relations between the two nations.
That
pact, if it ever existed, appears to have been sidelined. The vessel was said
to have left the Cook Islands in the South Pacific and arrived in Nigeria’s
waters without permission.
It
reportedly belonged to the Moscow-based Moran Group and was flying a Dutch
island flag at the time of its seizure.
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