3 stowaways from Ghana arrested on oil tanker in Lagos

Naval officers from the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT have arrested three Ghanaians stowaways onboard a foreign vessel in Lagos. The suspects identified as Armah Peter, Amisah Daniel and Amoh Michael allegedly boarded the ship in Abidjan, Cöte d’Ivoire, but were arrested when the ship, MT ANATOLIA, berthed at the Dangote Refinery in Lagos. During […]

Naval officers from the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT have arrested three Ghanaians stowaways onboard a foreign vessel in Lagos.

The suspects identified as Armah Peter, Amisah Daniel and Amoh Michael allegedly boarded the ship in Abidjan, Cöte d’Ivoire, but were arrested when the ship, MT ANATOLIA, berthed at the Dangote Refinery in Lagos.

During interrogation, the suspects claimed that they had allegedly spent five days in the rudder compartment of the ship.

The trio, who also claimed that they are Ghanaian fishermen based in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, intended to follow the ship to Spain or Canada.

“We wanted to follow the ship to either Canada or Spain to seek greener pastures. We traveled to Abidjan last year as fishermen. It was while in Abidjan that the idea of traveling to Europe or America occurred to us.

“We thought we had arrived at our destination when the ship berthed. We never knew it only stopped in Nigeria to discharge cargo,” they admitted.

Addressing news men at a brief ceremony held in Lagos to hand over the suspects to officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Commander NNS BEECROFT, Commodore A Adams-Aliyu, disclosed that the suspects were discovered on Saturday, 28 March 2026, concealed within the rudder compartment of the vessel while the ship was berthed at Dangote Terminal, Lagos. 

Commodore Adams-Aliyu explained that after their discovery, the suspects were then safely evacuated from the compartment and conveyed to NNS BEECROFT for preliminary investigation and profiling. 

“Initial findings identified the suspects as Armah Peter, 26; Amisah Daniel, 22; and Amoh Michael, 25, all male nationals of Ghana. Investigations revealed that the suspects had earlier travelled from Ghana to Abidjan, Cöte d’Ivoire, where they reportedly lived and engaged in fishing activities for about one year.

“Further inquiry revealed that, with the aid of a canoe, they gained access to the rudder compartment of MT ANATOLIA before the vessel departed Ivorian waters, with the intention of travelling illegally to Europe. After several hours at sea, believing they had arrived at their intended destination, they alerted the vessel’s crew, leading to their detection and subsequent rescue. Once again, parents, guardians and authority figures within the society are requested to advise their youths against attempting to board seagoing vessels illegally,” he said.