After three years in the custody of the Nigerian Navy Ship Delta, an illicit crude oil merchant vessel, MT NELI is finally returning to its owners after they met the terms of a substantive court order to gain its release.
Officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Navy conducted the handover at the command’s headquarters in Warri.
Arrested by the Navy on the 25th of November 2020 with an unspecified quantity of illegal automated gas oil (AGO) and crude oil, MT NELI has been under custody at the headquarters of the Nigerian Navy Ship Delta pending prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Three years after, the officials of the EFCC are back with a Judicial Deputy Chief Registrar and representatives of the owner for an official handover in compliance with a certified court judgment on the matter.
The navy leads the inspection of the vessel with all compartments intact except for the illegal products removed in line with an official order.
The navy also reiterated its commitment to crack down on all illegal oil activities and put a stop to the menace across the Niger Delta region.
