Lagos Govt Empowers Families of Imprisoned Nigerian Seafarers

Fresh indications have emerged that the Lagos State Ministry of Justice through one of its departments; Public Advise Centre (PAC) has intervened in the living conditions of families of some of the imprisoned seafarers all over the country by providing free education to their children and empowerment programmes for the wives.

Speaking with Nigeriamaritime360.com in Lagos last week, a seafarer who has been pursuing the course of his imprisoned colleagues, Capt. Segun Akanbi said that so far, seven families out of the twenty-seven that were gathered have benefitted from the scheme.

He said that the children were sent back to school while the wives were empowered in various ways in terms of soap making, hair dressing and so on.

Capt. Akanbi said that the beneficiaries were seafarers sentenced to twelve years imprisonment each while following instructions aboard a vessel; MT Good Success allegedly owned by one Capt. Banji.

He however said that apart from empowering the families of the seafarers, the PAC made other interventions including contacting the lawyers to the seafarers so that they can dig into the case and find out what actually brought the seafarers to prison.

“We have gathered the families of the seafarers in prison, we took them to the Public Advice Centre (PAC) under the ministry of Justice Lagos State and they provided free education for all their children and for the wives, they gave them various empowerments in terms of soap making, hair dressing and so on”

“Some of them refused because they felt that, a child that was formerly attending Corona school now asked to go to one Ajangbadi Primary School, but the opportunity was given to them”

“Through the seafarers in prison, we are pushing to Prerogative of Mercy so that they can consider their case, the PAC contacted the lawyers so that they can dig into the case and find out what actually brought the seafarers to prison, this is going on at the moment”.

“The last time we were at the prison, there were so many of them, the ones that came out that time were 27. But the ones that benefitted from this opportunity are those from Capt. Banji’s vessel that were given 12years imprisonment, they were the crew of vessel called Good Success”.

“Seven families, some of them with four children, some three children, they were so many, but these were the ones we are able to gather at that particular time”.

“The people fighting this cause are neither the Merchant Navy Directorate nor the Merchant Navy Senior Staff, it is just a concerned group of seafarers” he said.