Two fishermen, Antonio Sabino and Osorio Pires, believed to be residents of Neves in SaôTomē and Principe have been rescued by local fishermen in Brass Council Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, after they went missing while fishing around the Gulf of Guinea.
The Santomean fishermen who could only speak Portuguese were said to have been rescued by a fishing trawler after they had spent several days drifting off the Gulf of Guinea and were handed over to fishermen from Okpoama-Brass who took them ashore.
The fishermen who have since been handed over to the Okpoama Division of the Nigeria Police Force, which is headed by CSP Ebimiesigha Bebetu, have been fed and clothed, waiting to be repatriated to their country.
Confirming the incident, the chairman of the Okpoama Kingdom Security Committee, Chief Munalayefa William-Sinte, said that those who showed signs of malnourishment are now stable and are providing necessary information to the police for further action.
Chief Sinte also informed Nigerian Tribune that a fisherman from Ilaje Community in Ondo State but a resident in Okpoama has been missing for over a week, adding that his colleagues are currently searching the ocean for him.
It could be recalled that in 2019, the bodies of two male fishermen at an advanced stage of decomposition were found in a fishing boat that drifted ashore in Okpoama from Saọ̄ Tomē and Principe.
When contacted for further details, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Asinim Butswat, promised to issue an official statement on the matter later today.