EVENTS
Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker towed to German port

Published
3 months agoon
By
Ekwutos Blog
After hours of towing, a German maritime emergency team brought the oil tanker Eventin to safety off a Baltic seaport. The vessel, part of Russia’s aging “shadow fleet,” suffered a full blackout late Friday.
The stricken oil tanker Eventin, which had run adrift in the Baltic Sea north of the German island of Rügen, arrived at a safe position off the coast of the harbor of the German port Sassnitz early on Sunday.
The tanker — with around 99,000 tons of oil and said to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet of vessels used to skirt Western sanctions — is to remain in place until a decision is reached on how to proceed.
What we know about the operation
The Eventin is being held in position by two tugboats in a roadstead around five kilometers (around three miles) off the coast, said a spokesman for the maritime emergency command. A roadstead is an anchorage where ships can wait safely at anchor outside a port.
It is still unclear when and where the 274-meter-long (about 900-foot) tanker with 24 crew members will be repaired.
The ship suffered a total system failure, a so-called blackout, in the night heading into Friday and drifted without control on the Baltic Sea for hours.
Rescue teams managed to set up tow connections to the tanker on Friday afternoon.
A specially trained team of experts was lowered onto the stricken vessel from a helicopter. They were tasked with ensuring that the ship’s load was evenly distributed among the tugs.
A spokeswoman for the emergency command said the ship was watertight and that there was no danger to the environment. Several tugs towed the ship from early Saturday morning, initially towards a sea area northeast of Rügen.
However, with numerous wind turbines in the sea near the original destination, the plan was changed to a position further around the island near Sassnitz.
Already showing technical defects
The environmental organization Greenpeace has the “Eventin” on its list of the Russian shadow fleet. It said the almost 19-year-old ship, which sails under the Panamanian flag, had technical defects even before the blackout and was inadequately insured.
According to the organization, this meant that in the event of a serious accident such as an oil spill, the taxpayer would likely have to bear the costs.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday criticized Russia’s reliance on rundown tankers in its “shadow fleet,” warning it was a threat to European security.
“By ruthlessly deploying a fleet of rusty tankers, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not only circumventing the sanctions but is also willingly accepting that tourism on the Baltic Sea will come to a standstill” in the event of an accident, Baerbock said, describing the tankers as “dilapidated.”
rc/ab (dpa, AFP)
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EVENTS
Lagos Court Jails Man Three Months for Non-Declaration of $30,000 at Airport

Published
2 hours agoon
April 3, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Justice Deinde I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, convicted and sentenced Okunfulure Olusola Steve to three Months imprisonment for money laundering.
The convict was arrested on March 28, 2025 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, for false currency declaration to the tune of $30,0000.
The NCS had, on Friday, March 28, 2025, handed him over to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos for further investigations.
Consequently, he was arraigned on Wednesday on one-count charge bordering on money laundering.
The count reads: “That you, Okunfulure Olusola Steve, on the 28th day of March, 2025 in Lagos, within the Jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, failed to make a declaration of the sum of $20,000 (Twenty Thousand United States Dollars) to the Nigerian Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, and thereby committed an offence Contrary to and Punishable under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
The defendant pleaded “guilty” to the charge when it was read to him.
Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel, C.C. Okezie called on Felicia Paul, an operative of the EFCC, to review the facts of the case.
Paul, while giving details of how she knew the defendant, told the court that the NCS handed him over to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC on Friday, March 28, 2025.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Paul also told the court that the defendant was arrested with the sum of $30,000, which he failed to declare. She further told the court that “ his statement was recorded under caution and was served with the bail conditions.”
Thereafter, she identified the defendant’s statement, the handing-over note from the NCS, the arresting officer’s statement as well as the sum of $30,000(Thirty Thousand US Dollars) to the EFCC.
Okozie then sought to tender, in evidence, the documents.
Justice Dipeolu admitted and marked them as exhibits 1,2,3 and 4 and held that “ I have read the exhibits, the statement of the defendant, and I found him guilty. He is accordingly convicted as charged.”
Okezie thereafter prayed that the undeclared sum of $20,000 be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria and that the defendant be jailed.
Defence counsel, Joel Ogundere, while addressing the court, said that the defendant “is a first-time offender and is not aware of the disclosure policy . He is a family man and has responsibilities. His bank account shows the legitimacy of the funds.”
He also prayed the court to “ magnanimously waive any prison sentence”, adding that the convict would not mind forfeiting the sum of money or pay a fine.
Justice Dipeolu convicted and sentenced the defendant to three months imprisonment, with effect from the date of his arrest on March 28,2025. The Judge also ordered that the money be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Steve, a departing passenger on Delta Airline to Atlanta, United States had declared that he was not in possession of any sum of money in foreign currency but in Naira, while being profiled at the Currency Declaration Desk.
However, the sum of $30,000 undeclared was found on him during a search conducted by operatives of the NCS.
He was subsequently handed over to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC for further investigations, a development that led to his arraignment and conviction.
EVENTS
Nigerians in US to protest at White House over emergency rule in Rivers State

Published
7 hours agoon
April 3, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
A coalition of Nigerian activists in the United States, under the Democratic Movement, DM, has called on global leaders, the United Nations and the African Union to intervene in what it described as a blatant attack on democracy in Rivers State.
The pro-democracy movement also announced a planned rally at the United States White House to protest the declaration of emergency rule in the oil-rich state.
The coalition is demanding the reversal of the emergency rule imposed on Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, the reinstatement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and the restoration of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The group also called on President Donald Trump to engage with Nigerian authorities and call for the immediate restoration of constitutional order.
A statement, on Thursday by the Coalition, signed by Cosmos Achief, its President, said the protest to the US white house aims to draw global attention to the “direct assault on democracy and the will of the people.”
The statement read, “We cannot sit back while an elected governor is removed, an entire legislature is suspended, and an unelected administrator is imposed. These are dangerous precedents that threaten Nigeria’s democracy,” he said.
The coalition said the protest will take place in Washington, D.C., with demonstrators marching to the White House and the U.S. Department of State to submit petitions demanding international intervention.
“The world needs to see what is happening in Rivers State. A democratically elected government has been suspended under the guise of emergency rule. We are urging President Donald Trump to engage with Nigerian authorities and call for the immediate restoration of constitutional order,” the statement added.
“The president must understand that his actions could lead to serious diplomatic consequences. This move is a step toward dictatorship, and Nigeria risks facing international sanctions if democratic principles are not respected,” Achief warned.
The demonstration is expected to draw the attention of Nigerians in the diaspora, civil rights activists, and supporters of democracy who share concerns about governance in Nigeria.
EVENTS
Former President Muhammadu Buhari sends his heartfelt condolences to the family of the of Alhaji Abbas Sunusi, Galadiman Kano, who passed away yesterday.

Published
1 day agoon
April 2, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Former President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his heartfelt condolences to the family of Alhaji Abbas Sunusi, the Galadiman Kano, who passed away yesterday.
In a gesture of solidarity, Buhari also offered his sympathies to the Kano Emirate Council, the government, and the people of Kano State.
This move is reminiscent of Buhari’s previous condolences to the people and government of Kano State, following the passing of notable figures such as Alhaji Ibrahim El-Yakub, a former Federal Commissioner of Water Resources

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