Brazil Navy ship arrives Nigeria to back anti-piracy push in Gulf of Guinea

Robbery suspect nabbed in Lagos
With over 800,000 tons of fish worth two billion dollars lost yearly to pirate activities, Brazilian Navy Ship, Fragata INDEPENDENCIA, has arrived Nigeria for maritime interdiction mission code named ‘ GUNEX’ in the Gulf of Guinea.

Speaking with The Guardian on Thursday, the Ambassador of Brazil in Nigeria, H. E. Ricardo Guerra de Araújo represented by the Consulate General of Brazil in Lagos, Francisco Carlos Soares Luz, said, the presence of the 42-year-old vessel, Independencia, in Nigeria is to partner Nigerian Navy in a joint operation between Guinea, Cameroon, Cape Verde, to fight piracy in the gulf of guinea and other international crimes.

He said: “Fighting pirate in the gulf of guinea is very important because at the end, the activities of piracy will raise the cost of products for everyone, especially the land lock countries. They will have to pay more for those things. Brazil and Nigeria share the Atlantic Ocean as a border. So having our border safe is important for everyone and I think no cost is too expensive to keep the Atlantic Ocean safe.”

Carlos added that it is the first operation with the countries and he hoped it would not be the last because of the large economies of Nigeria and Brazil.

“This kind of operations is what we should do often. It will bring our countries together and our relationship has shown the reality in Nigeria and Brazil navies that we have so much in common and we must ensure we make the relationship the same,” he said.

On the collaboration, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral, Jason Gbasa, represented by the Chief Staff Officer, Habila Zakaria, said the visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Nigeria and Brazil as well as enhance maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.

The event was rounded off with a novelty match between the Brazilian Navy and the Nigerian Navy at the National Stadium, Surulere, while a plaque was presented to Amb. Ricardo and the taskforce commanding Martins Andre.

MEANWHILE, Lagos State Police Command has arrested an armed robbery suspect in the Bode Thomas area of the state.

The suspect, Olawale Samsudeen, 27, was arrested about 10 p.m. on Wednesday, when his gang attempted to rob a victim at Eric Moore Close, Off Eric Moore Road, Bode Thomas.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, in a statement on Thursday, said succour came for the victim when an alarm was raised, which attracted a police anti-crime patrol team in the area.

Ajisebutu said: “The patrol team in a swift response, went to the scene with the assistance of members of the public, arrested the suspect, while two others escaped with a motorcycle.

Items recovered from the suspect included a locally-made pistol and three cartridges.