Turk Hostages Avoid Being Sacrificed by Nigerian Pirates

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 11 August 2019)

Turks Escaped Via Niger Delta in 1908 click here for a
TNT report about a group of Turks who fled Ottoman 
exile in southwestern Libya, across the Sahara Desert,
and finally gained freedom through the Niger Delta.



On 13 July, 10 Turkish crew members were kidnapped by Nigerian
pirates from the dry cargo ship Paksoy-1 belonging to Kadıoğlu
Denizcilik along the coast of the Niger River delta in the Gulf of
Guinea.  The pirates approached the 115-meter Paksoy-1 in armed
speedboats, seized it and released 8 of the crew, but kidnapped 10
others in hopes of securing a ransom.

The Turkish hostages were brought to Yenagoa, a river village 15
kilometers inside the delta's jungle that is accessible only by boat. 
Meanwhile, on 21 July, Kadıoğlu Denizcilik sent lawyer Selçuk
Esenyel to Nigeria to negotiate a settlement and Esenyel immediately
went to Yenagoa. 


Negotiator Esenyel (center) and the would-be sacrificial lambs.

Esenyel subsequently explained that "I tried to talk with the pirates
each day, as they listed their demands.  They have a network of
observers in the delta to warn them of the approach of the police or
the army.  If such a thing happens they move the hostages right away.
To gain the upper hand in negotiating with me, they shut down my
satellite phone for a week."

"The tribes there make a living from fuel smuggling and ransoms.
All the tribal villages work together in these activities.  They're
focused on money and don't harm their hostages.  After 20 days
of ransom negotiations I secured our mens' release."

After gaining freedom, the Turkish seamen were flown by helicopter
to the Turkish embassy in Abuja on 9 August and arrived safely in
Istanbul on  11 August on the first day of the Kurban Bayramı
(Moslem Feast of Sacrifice).



              Arriving in Istanbul on the Feast of Sacrifice.