Row over tanker held in Nigeria

Militants in the Niger Delta have been targeting the oil industry

The captain of an impounded Greek oil tanker has accused Nigeria's armed forces of co-operating with militants in the Niger Delta to hijack his ship.

Captain Albo Simeon said the militants had forced his crew at gun-point to load smuggled oil while three Nigerian naval gunboats looked on.

In a sworn affidavit, he said he had seen several examples of collusion.

A Nigerian military spokesman denied the allegation and accused Captain Simeon of concocting the story.

The tanker is currently impounded by Nigeria and the crew face prosecution for economic crimes.

Lt-Col Rabe Abubakar of the Nigerian military said: "We don't do hijacking."