The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) has arrested two foreign Cotonou boats carrying 22 passengers and 671 bags of rice brought into the country from Cameroon.
Flag Officer Commanding ENC, Rear Admiral Atiku Abdulkadir, said that the boats were arrested by men of the Navy on board Nigerian Navy Ship, Makurdi, while on sea patrol.
Addressing journalists at the NNS Victory jetty in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, Abdulkadir said that one of the boats carried 14 Nigerians with 550 bags of rice, while the other carried eight Cameroonians with 121 bags of rice.
According to him, the passengers on board the boat had no valid traveling document, which led to their arrest and have been handed over to the relevant agencies for further actions.
He assured that, the Navy remains committed about security on the water ways, and will continue to maintain their presence at sea while also upgrading on their intelligence network.