Eight Nigerian pirates have been deported by the Ghanaian authorities upon the directive of the Minister of the Interior.

They were handed over to Niger­ian authorities by a team of officials represented by the Ghana Police Serv­ice and the Ghana Immigration Serv­ice under the leadership of DSP. Peter Kamasa of the Interpol, Accra, to officials of the National Criminal Bureau/Lagos (Interpol/Lagos) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, on Janu­ary 7, 2016 after an exhaustive legal process in Accra.

The suspects are Molih William, Molilh, Klinsman, David Jacob, Amos Ebiyaibo, Aki Peggy John Picolo, Ayetimili Oyinle and Pinano Saniyu.

The suspects had earlier made appearances before an Accra Magis­trate Court 3, Adjabeng.

The arrest of the pirates followed a complaint lodged by the Nigerian owner of a vessel, Sunday Nakase who said the men had stolen the ves­sel - MT Mariam - together with its crude oil contents and directed the crew to steer to an undisclosed desti­nation.

They were arrested by personnel of the Ghana Navy and handed over to the police.

A search revealed three AK 47s, IG3 rifle, a pump-action gun and 256 rounds of ammunition. Other items found on board the vessel were tablets, monies, walkie talkies, speed boats and two Yamaha outboard motors.

According to COP David Asante-Apeatu, the owner of MT Marinin, after lodging the complaint and the arrest of the crew, officials of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, BNI, National Security and others met periodically to assess progress on the investigation and the next action.

It was decided that allowing the Nigerian authorities to undertake fur­ther investigation and prosecution would serve a better purpose, more so since the vessel was arrested beyond 25 nautical miles off Ghana­ian waters.

"We want to say that maritime crime takes in vast areas on the sea, a situation making it challenging to prevent," he said adding that vessels are sometimes flagged by one country and operated by different trans-sectoral and international bodies.

COP Asante-Apeatu said the suc­cesses chalked so far in the matter were attributable to the inter-security services cooperation which he added went on until the Attorney-General's advice that the pirates be deported to their country of origin.

The Minister's deportation order was derived from Act 573 Section 36.