Four Nigerian men hid on cargo ship’s rudder for two weeks, surviving off of ocean water in

August 2, 2023
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Four Nigerian men hid on cargo ship’s rudder for two weeks, surviving off of ocean water in hopes of reaching Europe but ended up in BRAZIL

  • Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday are two of the men who spent two weeks on a ship’s rudder sailing across the Atlantic Ocean
  • The group initially thought they were migrating to Europe and were surprised to find out they had reach the coast of Brazil when police spotted them
  • Yeye and Friday have chosen to apply for asylum while the two other men asked to be return to Nigeria 

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Four Nigerian men survived two weeks on a cargo ship’s rudder as it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean before they were rescued by Brazilian authorities.

The migrants had their eyes set on reaching Europe to start new lives when the Liberian-flagged Ken Wave departed from Lagos, Nigeria, on June 27, according to Reuters.

They were spotted by the Brazilian Federal Police in the southeastern port of Vitoria after completing the 3,500-mile death-defying journey.

The group was surprised when they found out they were on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean.

A Brazilian cop provides water to Nigerian migrants rescued from the rudder of a cargo ship that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in July

A Brazilian cop provides water to Nigerian migrants rescued from the rudder of a cargo ship that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in July

Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye (left) and Roman Ebimene Friday (right) are two of the four Nigerian men who were rescued by São Paulo, Brazil, police officers after they were spotted in a ship's rudder last month. The group thought they were migrating to Europe and were shocked to find out they had made it to the opposite of the Atlantic

Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye (left) and Roman Ebimene Friday (right) are two of the four Nigerian men who were rescued by São Paulo, Brazil, police officers after they were spotted in a ship’s rudder last month. The group thought they were migrating to Europe and were shocked to find out they had made it to the opposite of the Atlantic

Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, 38, and Roman Ebimene Friday, 35, requested asylum and are currently staying at a São Paulo church shelter waiting for their legal process to play out.

Two of the men requested to be returned to Nigeria. 

Both Yeye and Friday cited economic hardship, political instability and crime as reasons why they sought to leave their native land

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has longstanding issues of violence and poverty, and kidnappings are endemic.

Yeye, a Pentecostal minister, revealed that he chose to abandon Nigeria after floods destroyed his peanut and palm oil farms earlier this year and displaced his family from their home.

He now longs for the day they can join him in Brazil.

‘It was a terrible experience for me,’ Yeye said. ‘On board it is not easy. I was shaking, so scared. But I’m here.’

Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, a Pentecostal minister, revealed he decided to start a new life in Europe after floods ravaged his peanut and palm oil farms in Nigeria several months ago. He said his family lost their home and hopes to reunite with them in Brazil, where he has applied for asylum

Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, a Pentecostal minister, revealed he decided to start a new life in Europe after floods ravaged his peanut and palm oil farms in Nigeria several months ago. He said his family lost their home and hopes to reunite with them in Brazil, where he has applied for asylum

Nigerian migrants are spotted sitting on the rudder of the Liberian-flagged Ken Wave

Nigerian migrants are spotted sitting on the rudder of the Liberian-flagged Ken Wave 

Four migrants were rescued from the  Liberian-flagged Ken Wave in São Paulo, Brazil

Four migrants were rescued from the  Liberian-flagged Ken Wave in São Paulo, Brazil

Friday previously attempted to migrate from Nigeria on a ship but was taken into custody by cops there.

‘I pray the government of Brazil will have pity on me,’ he said.

Friday said he was unaware Yeye and the three men were joining the dangerous voyage and was scared they would push him into the sea.

He recalled that they took precautions to avoid being detected by the vessel’s crew.

‘Maybe if they catch you they will throw you in the water,’ Friday said. ‘So, we taught ourselves never to make a noise.’

Roman Ebimene Friday said that he was once busted by cops in Nigeria attempting to migrate on a ship

Roman Ebimene Friday said that he was once busted by cops in Nigeria attempting to migrate on a ship

He also remembered that they set up netting around the rudder and tied themselves to it as a way to protect themselves from falling into the water infested by ‘big fish like whales and sharks.’

Father Paolo Parise, a priest at the Sao Paulo shelter, said he had come across other cases of stowaways, but never one so dangerous.

Their journey paid testament to lengths people will go in search of a new start, he said.

‘People do unimaginable and deeply dangerous things.’

The men recalled running out of food by the 10th day and surviving the last four days drinking water from the sea.

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