Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday raised the detention of 16 Indian sailors in Nigeria with the country’s interior minister Rauf Argebesola, who said he will look at what could be done to “minimise any challenge that might occur”.
The two leaders spoke to each other on the sidelines of the ‘No Money for Terror’ conference. “What I told the home affairs minister yesterday when he raised the matter with me is that we respect India. We extend that respect to any Indian national involved in any legitimate act or business or activity in Nigeria. You look at all the facts around this matter. We respectfully consider what India is saying and will see what we can do to minimise any challenge that might occur,” he said.
A Nigerian court has charged 26 men, including 16 Indians, for an alleged attempt to illegally deal in crude oil. The authorities claimed that the crude oil inside the ship ‘MT Heroic’ was being bought illegally. On August 9, the ship had left for Nigeria’s Equatorial Guinea with crude oil. On August 17, it was detained.
Sanu Jose, chief officer from MT Heroic, in a video appeal has requested the central government to intervene. He and other crew members, seen holding Indian and Sri Lankan flags in the background, are heard saying the ship was being dragged to Nigerian waters. He called it an act of piracy, while the crew members are heard calling out for help. A similar video has been released by other Indians on board too. Appeals have also been made by family members of detained sailors to chief ministers of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Argebesola told CNN-News18 that consular access will be provided to the detained Indian nationals. “You must know that Nigeria is affected by illegal lifting of crude oil. The ship you are talking about, we suspect it to be involved in something close to that… it is not yet confirmed…the matter is in court. I can only assure welfare of the suspects and preservation of their human rights; they can use consular access with India to ensure justice,” he said.
Nigeria, too, has raised the issue of its nationals detained in India. Officials said Nigeria was seeking reciprocity on the issue of Indian sailors. “I raised the issue of Nigerians in detention for long without trial in India. We are considering the issue raised by Indian authorities, they too have promised to look at our concerns,” the minister said.
He added that he also raised the issue of visa reciprocity with India. Nigeria is demanding a separate visa regime for its businessman — including visa-on-arrival and long-term visa for its students — for the duration of their course rather than current system of six-monthly visa.
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