External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during press conference in New Delhi. (File Photo)
Parents of a Marine engineer from Telangana who has been lodged in a Nigerian jail since July last year, today urged Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to take up the matter with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, to secure his early release.
26-year-old Manoj Kumar, a Marine Engineer from Mahabubnagar district of Telangana, was captured from a ship near the Nigerian coast in July last year along with 10 other Indians when their ship had allegedly "mistakenly" entered Nigerian waters.
Manoj was subsequently arrested along with the 10 other crew members and has been in jail since then.
"We again want Union Minister Sushma Swaraj to speak with the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who is coming to Delhi, and ensure the early release of my son. We want the Indian government should seek his release at the earliest rather than keeping on enquiring the matter with Indian embassy in Nigeria," Manoj's father Dasarath said.
"The matter is getting prolonged...Now, we want the Indian government to settle the issue by directly speaking to the Nigerian President on the matter," Mr Dasarath told news agency PTI.
"The Indian government should now ensure that our son returns to India...It's been over two years since me and his mother met him. We are worried about our son," a distressed Mr Dasarath said.
Manoj's mother, who was in tears appealed for his early release, saying "I haven't seen my son for over two years."
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is set to arrive in New Delhi to participate in the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit. According to Mr Dasarath, Manoj had left from Mumbai in December 2013 and joined a shipping company in Ghana.
"In July 2014, Manoj along with other crew members from India, was aboard a ship transporting scrap from Ghana to Cameroon when it stopped in mid sea due to a technical issue. There were efforts to repair the ship for almost a month, but in the meanwhile, the Nigerian police held them," he said.
"It was only in August this year I came to know about arrest of my son, who till then did not inform us about the incident. We had met Sushma Swaraj in August this year in Delhi along with parents and family members of other crew members, who had then assured that she will get Manoj along with others released by October 12," Mr Dasarath said.