Pirates kidnap 8 expatriates in Niger Delta

Russia says seven of its sailors and one Ukrainian have been abducted on Nigeria’s territorial waters.

The Russian embassy in Nigeria has asked the Nigerian authorities for assistance in locating the abducted sailors.

“The BBC Caribbean ship came under a piratic attack in the territorial waters of Nigeria,” the embassy said on Wednesday via its twitter page.

“Seven Russian citizens and one Ukrainian citizen have been kidnapped from the ship.

“In connection with the seizure, the Embassy of the Russian Federation requested the authorities of Nigeria’s assistance in locating the stolen.’’

General cargo ship BBC Caribbean was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea 45 nautical miles south-west off Brass, Nigeria, the Russia News Agency TASS said.

The incident happened near Pennington Oil Terminal in the Niger Delta region. The cargo ship was approached by a motor skiff with armed men on board, who opened fire.

The guards on board of the general cargo ship BBC Caribbean returned fire but were later overpowered.

On November 27, 2016, three Russian sailors were taken hostage when the Saronic Breeze ship was attacked in the territorial waters of Benin.

The captives regained freedom on December 20, 2016.