Some freshly released secret files from the United Kingdom’s intelligence community have revealed details of how the British government seized a military ship headed for Nigeria in 2014.
Coast Guard vessel Kystvakt on the sea. It is its Norwegian version MV Horthen that was seized by UK in 2014
According to the files seen by ZENITHBLOG.com, the UK government stopped the ship, a coast guard patrol vehicle named MV Horthen, which was making its way from Norway to Nigeria.
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It is believed that the ship was bought by the Nigerian government under the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan.
Snapshot of the declassified UK intelligence files on seized Nigerian-bought ship
The UK government’s files, which included documented email correspondence between officers of the British intelligence, revealed that the ship was impounded at Ramsgate, a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England.
According to them, the ship was seized because it did not have the necessary certifications for a seagoing vessel. Also, its crew and shipmaster appeared not to know the necessary regulations required of a ship of that nature and size.
According to the documents, the ship arrived in British waters without proper certifications
The files also revealed the British
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According to US’s National Defence magazine, such a military-grade ship, which is probably armed with 40mm gun, 12.7m machine guns and a radar system like most standard Offshore Patrol Vesssels (OPVs), was worth $484million as at 2014.
The files say Nigerian government was contacted but Jonathan and his cabinet did not respond.
ZENITHBLOG.com recalls that the Jonathan government was infamous for buying weapons on the black market after claiming that Western government blocked legitimate moves to acquire arms to protect the country.
The UK government detained the ship as it waited for necessary documents.
In September 2014, three passengers of a private jet were arrested upon arrival to South Africa with $9.3m in several suitcases. The Federal Government of Nigeria almost immediately issued documents to confirm the money was intended for arms purchase.
Barely three weeks after that, South Africa’s government confiscated another US$5.7 million arms deal money from Nigeria.
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