Edith CHUKU
38 years old Geoffrey Atizara from Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and 42-years old Divine Kelechi Unueze from Imo State, have been arrested by the Department of State Services DSS, on the allegation of a planned hijack of an oil tanker in the Gulf of Guinea.
The two suspected sea pirates were arrested at a hotel in the Edepie area of Yenagoa, while allegedly finalising the said attack on a crude-oil laden vessel.
Their arrest has been described as a significant boost to maritime security efforts in the Niger Delta region,.
Unueze and Atizara were said to be part of a wilder criminal network involved in sea piracy and kidnapping across the South-South and South-East regions.
Investigations revealed that their gang planned to seize the vessel, abduct the crew and steal its cargo. While Unueze was accused of financing the operation, Atizara was believed to be responsible for recruiting more members for the gang.
A security source said the arrests disrupted what could have been a major criminal operation, underscoring the impact of intelligence-driven interventions by the DSS, even as he noted that the plot posed a serious threat to maritime security in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea.
The source said the DSS, in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies, have intensified coordinated operations to curb maritime crimes, noting that recent efforts have led to the interception of pirate speedboats and the rescue of crew members from hijacked vessels off the coasts of Bayelsa and Delta states.
