The Federal Government yesterday returned a Swiss vessel, MT San Padre Pio, which was impounded within the Nigerian waterways in 2018 to the Swiss government.
The Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Abdullahi Ahmed, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Ojo, and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, handed over the vessel to the Swiss government on behalf of the Nigerian government.
Justice Malami, who spoke at the event, said the return of the event will strengthen the ties between Nigeria and Switzerland.
According to him, the ship was captured in the Nigerian waterways when it was found without relevant permits and the process started in January 2018 when MT San Padre Pio was arrested.
He stated that while the Minister of Justice was deliberating on how to release the vessel unconditional due to the diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and Switzerland, the Swiss government went to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Germany on the matter of which the Tribunal ordered Switzerland to enter a bail bond of fourteen million in favour of Nigeria for the crew members to be released in line with Nigerian laws.
The deputy Director of International and Comparative Law, Federal Ministry of Justice, francis Ojo, represented the Attorney General of the Federation at the event.
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