Kochi, 11th June 2023: The Indian nationals who were held in Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria for nine months finally returned home on Saturday.
After facing hearings and negotiating a settlement, the 16 sailors arrived at Kochi Airport in Kerala after being accused of oil theft by Nigerian authorities.
Their family and Indian authorities warmly greeted them with garlands at the Kochi airport.
The ship has 26 crew members, of which 16 are Indians who were first detained in Equatorial Guinea in August 2022 and later moved to Nigeria in November 2022.
The sailors were happy about the fact that they were back home and added that their time in Nigeria was full of ‘uncertainty about what would happen’ to their lives. One added that they were told their lives would end in Nigeria.
The sailors also agreed that it was the value of the Indian passports that also played a huge role in getting them freed.
