16 foreigners have been charged by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with offenses that include conspiracy, theft, an attempt to deal in crude oil, and making false pretenses. The foreign nationals were apprehended inside MT Heroic Idun, a ship.
The foreigners allegedly plotted together and committed maritime offenses in August 2022 in the Akpo Oilfield in Rivers State. To charges that allegedly violate Section 10 of the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offenses Act 2019, the defendant entered a not guilty plea.
Justice Turaki Muhammed, the trial judge, ordered that the defendant be held in custody so that the 10 other suspects; who were still at large may be brought to court to face their own accusations after hearing the prosecution’s request for the modified charges.
The MT Heroic Idun crude oil tanker was reportedly carrying about 26 people when the Nigerian Navy boarded it on August 7, 2022 in the Akpo Oilfield in the seas off Rivers State.