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A United States-based shipping company, NUJENIX Corporation, has sent a petition to the Nigerian Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, reporting some personnel of the Nigerian Army.
According to the company’s petition, the military personnel were complicit in the unlawful seizure, detention, and vandalism of its motor tanker, MT Thor.
The petition, signed by the company’s lawyers, S.D. Omede, Esq., and P.O. Onucheyo, Esq., provided names of several individuals and firms for the IGP to investigate, accusing them of criminal conspiracy, stealing, vandalism, and illegal conversion of the vessel.
NUJENIX Corporation said it is acting on behalf of its owner and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Eial Golan Yachiel, an Israeli-American citizen resident in the United States.
According to the petition, MT Thor, owned by NUJENIX Corporation and registered in Florida, was handed over to Sub-Sea 9 Ocean Services Ltd under a bareboat charter agreement dated January 1, 2021, allegedly operated by John George Igor. Under the agreement, Igor was to pay $912,500 every six months but allegedly defaulted.
“He failed to do so and only paid the sum of $25,000.00,” the petition stated.
The company alleged that after taking possession of the vessel, Igor disappeared, stopped answering calls, and issued grave threats.
Briefing journalists in Abuja, company lawyer, Barrister Peter Onucheyo, alleged that Nigerian Army personnel supporting one of the prime suspects were used to intimidate and unlawfully disrupt police investigations, took custody of the vessel, and detained parties connected to it.
According to Onucheyo, the matter escalated beyond civil disputes. “This is not about business again. This is about threats, detention, and force,” he said.
He alleged that after court processes were initiated, armed personnel intervened. “When the police went to effect the arrest, they were stopped,” he said.
He further alleged that soldiers were deployed to guard the vessel at Koko, Warri, Delta State, where it was allegedly hidden and dismantled.
“They went and hid the vessel there. When you see how it is now, it’s not as tacky as it used to be; it’s actually destroyed,” he added.
In the petition, NUJENIX Corporation further claimed that the vessel has been stripped of vital components and rendered unusable.
“Right now, the vessel is damaged beyond repair and is no longer seaworthy due to the criminal activities of the suspects,” the petition stated, noting that navigational and bunker equipment were allegedly stolen.
Photographs showing the condition of MT Thor at the time it was delivered in January 2021 and its current state were attached to the petition, according to the lawyers.
Citing the alleged involvement of armed personnel and threats to life, the firm urged urgent intervention by the IGP.
“We humbly urge and request that the Inspector-General of Police use your good office and intervene so that justice will be served,” the petition read, stressing that the matter required immediate attention “to save the life and property of our client.”
‘Intervene so justice will be served’ – US firm petitions Nigeria’s IGP over seizure of vessel
