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Eight sailors made up of seven Russians and one Ukranian, who were captured by sea pirates about one month ago in Nigerian waters while on a cargo ship, have been released.
The Russian sailors were abducted by some pirates in Nigerian waters.
The sailors were said to have been captured and held by Nigerian pirates, but according to a human rights activist in Crimea, were released on Sunday after discussions between the ship owners and pirates.
According to Interfax news agency, Pavel Butsay, the activist who made the freedom of the sailors public, said they were at a Frankfurt airport and are likely to return home in the coming week.
Although he refused to reveal the amount that was paid, Butsay confirmed that a ransom was paid to ensure the freedom of the ‘innocent’ sailors.
Meanwhile, Russian news agency TASS has confirmed the release of the crew members of the BBC Caribbean cargo ship.
It quoted Artyom Romanov, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Nigeria, as saying on Sunday, March 5 that the hostages were all in good health.
“We confirm that the seven Russian sailors who were abducted in Nigeria last month, have been freed and left Nigeria on Saturday evening,” he said. “All of them were in satisfactory condition at the moment of leaving Nigeria. They were in good health.”
West Africa’s waters, especially along Nigeria where many pirates have their origin, have been classified as some of the world’s most dangerous as several attacks and ransom have happened in recent times.
Since President Muhammadu Buhari’s absence from the country, there have been relatively low attacks by terrorists, so we decided to ask Nigerians if this was just a coincidence.
