Captain of MV Yenagoa Ocean, Captain Graham Egbegi, said yesterday that though crew of the hijacked ship were not physically assaulted or tortured, the experience was traumatic.
Somali pirates hijacked the ship run by Nigerians, in August 2008, and demanded a million dollar ransom..
Egbegi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview from Yemen, that his crew was confined to the cabin without seeing sunlight for the first three months.
“But the kind of experience we faced, I mean anytime you wakeup in the morning you see barrels of guns, it was worse than physical torture,’’ he said, adding that since the crew was not armed, they had to deploy diplomacy in their dealings with the pirates.
“The key word was just diplomacy, we just had to be cool headed and friendly with them even when they did things we did not like, we had to accept,’’ Egbegi added.
On whether the ransom was paid or not, Egbegi said: “let us not go into other details for now. But all I am saying is that my crew and I are safe together with the vessel. When I come back to Nigeria, we will talk.
“I will not want to make so much comments on that for now until I am back in the country,’’ he said and commended the Federal Government and Nigerians for their efforts in facilitating their release.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Kenya and Seychelles, Mr Chijioke Wigwe, said the crew would be returning to Nigeria on Monday.
Wigwe told NAN on phone that the crew were physically fit to return home and would be accompanied by members of the presidential task force that facilitated their release.
“Since Nigeria closed its embassy many years ago, I have the additional responsibilities to oversee Somalia, hence my involvement in the process of their release,” he added.
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