CHARLES EKPEMEFUMOR aka Charles Parker or Captain Charles Agaba : declared wanted for piracy

Nigerian Navy on Thursday declared wanted one Charles Ekpemefumor who allegedly masterminded the hijack of a vessel, MT MAXIMUS with 18 crew members.

The vessel carrying 4,368.203MT of Gas Oil was hijacked on 11 February 2016 off Cote d’Ivoire waters.

Commodore Christian Ezekobe, Director of Navy Information who revealed this in a statement said the vessel was eventually rescued on 19 February 2016 within Sao Tome waters 320 nautical miles (nm) off the Nigerian coast by men of the Nigerian Navy.

During the rescue operation, he revealed that 6 pirates were arrested, while while one other was killed.

CHARLES EKPEMEFUMOR aka Charles Parker or Captain Charles Agaba

He added that some items were also recovered from the pirates including weapons and mobile telephones.

Commodore Ezekobe said in the course of investigations, it was revealed that one MR CHARLES EKPEMEFUMOR aka Charles Parker or Captain Charles Agaba was the mastermind of the attack on MT MAXIMUS.

The Pirate kingpin was also alleged to be responsible for the leasing of mother ship MT DEJIKUN used for the hijack from one Mr Mustapha Kenny Gani through a third party called Mr Steve Paul.

Some of the rescued crew members of the hijacked Panama-flagged Maximus vessel stand for the media in Lagos, Nigeria Monday, Feb. 22, 2016.

According to the Navy, in view of Ekpemefumor involvement in the pirate attack and hijacking of MT MAXIMUS, a letter of invitation was sent to him on 15 April 2016 to enable him come for questioning on the allegation.

Several attempts have been made to ensure his compliance but all efforts proved abortive, according to the Naval spokesperson.

“Accordingly, Mr Charles Ekpemefumor Alias Charles Parker is hereby declared wanted by the Naval Headquarters in order to unravel the circumstances of the hijack of MT MAXIMUS.

“Therefore, any person who sights him should report immediately to any naval formation, military or security agencies for prompt action,” Commodore Ezekobe said.