Dutch judge orders Nigerian piracy suspect held for 2 weeks

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A Nigerian man suspected of hijacking a Dutch-flagged freight ship has been handed over to Dutch authorities by South Africa and ordered jailed for two weeks while investigations continue, prosecutors said Friday.

The 29-year-old, whose identity was not released, is suspected of involvement in the hijacking of the FWN Rapide, which was sailing under a Dutch flag when armed pirates boarded it in April last year off the coast of western Africa.

Eleven of the ship’s 14-strong crew were taken hostage and held in the jungles of Nigeria and Cameroon before being released in May 2018 after the shipping company paid a ransom, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service said in a statement.

The suspect was arrested late last year in South Africa and flown to the Netherlands on Thursday. He appeared Friday at a behind-closed-doors hearing before an investigating judge who ordered him detained for two weeks.