Operatives of Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested two suspected members of a sea piracy syndicate over an alleged plot to hijack a crude oil-laden vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

Security sources said the suspects were apprehended on Saturday in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, while finalising plans to seize the vessel and abduct its crew. The Gulf of Guinea remains a major maritime corridor for Nigeria’s oil exports and has been prone to piracy incidents in recent years.

According to the sources, the arrests followed weeks of intelligence gathering that tracked the suspects to a hotel on Tenacious Street in the Edepie area of Yenagoa. The individuals were identified as Geoffrey Atizara, 38, from Aleibiri in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and Divine Kelechi Unueze, 42, a native of Nekede in Owerri, Imo State.

Investigations indicated that the suspects were working with other members of a criminal network to hijack the vessel, abduct those on board and steal its cargo. During questioning, their statements reportedly aligned with intelligence earlier obtained by the DSS. Unueze was described as the financier of the planned operation, while Atizara allegedly handled the recruitment of additional pirates.

Security officials said the syndicate operates across Nigeria’s South-East and South-South regions and is involved in sea piracy and kidnapping for ransom. The DSS said the arrests had disrupted what could have been a major maritime attack, with potential implications for security and economic activity in the oil-producing Gulf of Guinea.

The development comes amid intensified maritime security operations by the DSS in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy and other agencies. Recent operations have included the interception of pirate speedboats and the rescue of crew members from hijacked vessels off the coasts of Bayelsa and Delta states, according to reports by security authorities and international monitoring bodies such as the International Maritime Bureau and regional security updates on the Gulf of Guinea.

Beyond maritime operations, the DSS has also recorded successes on land. In recent joint operations with other security agencies and forest guards, several abducted individuals, including clerics, were rescued in Kaduna and Borno states.

Efforts to obtain an official response from the DSS on when the arrested suspects would be formally charged in court were unsuccessful, as calls, text messages and emails sent to the agency had not been answered at the time of filing this report.