The photo of these four men hiding at the helm of a ship does not fully illustrate the horror of the journey they made from their native Nigeria to the coast of Brazil 13 days later.

The stowaways were discovered by crew members of another ship that passed close by in Vitoria Bay, in Holy Spiritin southeastern Brazil.

According to a representative of the shipping company, these are immigrants “they had no idea” from where the ship was heading, destined for the port of Santos, before hiding there.

Police rescued the men after a phone call.

The group reportedly hid on the Liberian-flagged ship Ken Wave shortly before it left the port of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, on June 27.

“They were in a very precarious situation, but they had no serious health problems. they wore some days without food and at least four days without water”Ramón Almeida, head of the Immigration Office of the Superintendency of the Federal Police (PF) in Espiritu Santo, explained to BBC News Brazil.

Two immigrants in the group spoke English and could communicate with police, he added.

When embarking in Lagos, they brought food and water with them, but provisions ran out en route.

“Our experience shows that these people just hide on the boats without even knowing what their final destination will be. They can stop at any port in the world,” the delegate explained to BBC News Brazil journalist Leandro Machado.

what awaits you

According to Eugênio Ricas, Superintendent of the PF in Espírito Santo, the Nigerians will be the responsibility of the company that owns the ship Ken Wave “until it forced return to Nigeria” in 25 days.

The men had been without food or drink for several days. DISCLOSURE

According to police chief Ramón Almeida, the company that owns the ship is legally responsible for accommodating them in a hotel in Brazil and financing their return to the African country, even though the company was unaware that the Nigerians were on the ship.

“They are allowed to stay in Brazil for 25 days, until they have documents, buy tickets and return to Nigeria,” Almeida said.

However, there are some alternatives for the group to stay in Brazil legally: apply for shelter or permanent residence.

Marina Rongo, an adviser to the Conectas NGO’s Democratic Space Strengthening Program, explains that the migration law, passed in 2017, contains provisions that could serve to prevent the repatriation of Nigerians.

“It is predicted that the repatriation will not take place if there are reasons that could put the person in danger, even if it is claimed that they had no documents,” he explains.

“They’ve been found in an extremely vulnerable situationweak, hungry and cold, on a long and risky journey,” he says.

For 13 days they traveled hidden in the rudder blade. DISCLOSURE

Marina Rongo says the four men can apply for asylum in the country – and the analysis of the cases will be done by the National Commission for Refugees (Conare).

“Each case will be analyzed individually through interviews, taking into account each of the stories. As long as Conare does not decide, which could take months or even years, they can stay in Brazil,” he explains.

Total, Brazil granted 65,811 shelters during the same period. The vast majority of them were for Venezuelans (53,307 cases, or 97% of applications for that nationality).

Another option for the four Nigerians to stay is to apply for permanent residence in Brazil. This benefit can be given in case of employment, study or marriage – and they have 120 days to prove any of these conditions.

crisis in Nigeria

The case of the four Nigerians found at the helm of the ship in Espiritu Santo is an example of the tomb humanitarian and social crisis that Nigeria has been going through for the past 20 years.

Nigerian Army soldiers in 2016, after a clash with Boko Haram forces. GETTY IMAGES

The crisis is mainly caused by the insurgency of the Islamist group boko haramwhich occupies part of the northeastern part of the country and wages an armed struggle against the security forces and promotes human rights violations.

According to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, “although the Nigerian military has regained control in parts of the northeastern part of the country, civilians in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger continue to be affected by serious human rights violations, violence, gender and sexual discrimination , forced recruitment and suicide attacks”.

The bureau points out that the conflict with Boko Haram has resulted 304,500 Nigerian refugees and more of 2.4 million internally displaced persons.

Founded in 2002, Boko Haram waged war against Nigeria’s central power with the intention of establishing Islamist control over the state of Nigeria. born, in the northeast of the country.

Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and is one of the world’s largest oil exporters. According to World Bank data for 2022, the country has a GDP (gross domestic product) of USD 440 billion.

Nigeria also has the largest population in Africa, with 213 million people, according to the World Bank.

The country is not only densely populated, but also religiously and culturally divided, with a predominantly Muslim north, a predominantly Christian south and a more mixed race in the central part.