Bengal MP seeks release of 11 Indians jailed in Nigeria

KOLKATA: A Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal has called on External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to secure the release of 11 Indians who have been jailed in Nigeria for nearly a year on “fake” charges.

"This is bring into your kind notice that 11 Indians joined the ship, MT Maro, in October 2013 at Ghana,” Ritabrata Banerjee, who belongs to CPI (M), said in a letter to the minister. “The ship left Ghana for Camaroon and due to technical snag, was forced to anchor in the Port of Brass. On July 25 last year, the Nigerian navy arrested the workers of the ship and handed them over to the Economic Financial Crime Commission of Nigeria. The commission demanded money from the workers and when they failed to give them the money, fake charges were levelled against them."

He said the commission was unable to find any evidence against the Indian workers in its custody. “There were physical assaults on these 11 Indians and two of them suffered leg fractures in Nigerian prison,” Banerjee said in the letter. “I urge you to look into this matter sympathetically and take steps for the release of these persons."