Akpoborie dismisses 'slave ship' talk

Akpoborie was suspended by his German club

BBC Sport Online's Eniwoke Ibagere hears Jonathan Akpoborie put his case over allegations a ship he owned was laden with child slaves.

Nigerian international striker Jonathan Akpoborie, owner of the controversial ship suspected of carrying child slaves in April, has said that the allegation was an outrageous claim and a hoax.

"It's really an outrageous and scary piece news that UNICEF started and fed the international media with it.

"Now, it's clear to me and everybody the allegations are not true," Akpoborie told BBC Online in Lagos.

It's clear to me and everybody the allegations are not true

  Jonathan Akpoborie

"Since arriving Nigeria in the past one week, I have been to Cotonou for interrogation by the Benin Republic police and other relevant authorities.

"They have realised I bought the ship but found nothing incriminating against me and the shipping agency."

Akpoborie, 32, together with his family, run a shipping agency, Titanic Investment Limited, with two Nigerian-registered passenger and cargo ships - "MV Etireno" and "Xmas Day".

Troubled waters

He bought both ships from Denmark in 1998, each worth more than $500,000.

But MV Etireno, named after his 70-year-old mother, ran into troubled waters last month when UNICEF, the United Nations' children's agency, claimed that it was carrying up to 250 child slaves from Benin to Gabon - sparking a frantic international search off the West African coast.

The Etireno was at the centre of an international search

However, when the ship docked in Benin on 17 April, the claim appeared to be exaggerated.

But an investigation revealed that at least a dozen of the 43 children and young adults, which was the actual number aboard the vessel, were destined to be slaves.

Akpoborie said: "UNICEF constantly changed the number of those aboard the ship, including the number of the children until the vessel berthed on the actual day it was to do so.

Ship cleared

"The agents who sold the tickets to passengers that boarded the ship said the were no children on board but they were Malians aged between 18 and 25 years and all of them had passports.

"The Beninoise immigration and ports authorities cleared the ship before it departed Cotonou waters. So what are they talking about?

"UNICEF has to come out now and clear up the mess and confusion they had caused in the first place."

Akpoborie in positive mood as he talks to BBC Sport Online

The striker, who plays for German first division club VfL Wolfsburg, said he was not involved in the day-to-day running of the shipping business, but that his family members were in charge.

"I bought both ships to help create jobs for the unemployed youths in Nigeria, solve any monetary problems that my broader family members may have and also because my late father was into shipping," he said

Suspended by club

"This is the kind of thing that will scare foreign investors from coming to Nigeria. I'm not into any dubious dealings but am just an ordinary, plain and honest footballer."

In the wake of the controversy, Wolfsburg, sponsored by car-maker Volkswagen, suspended Akpoborie indefinitely so he could clear up the allegations against him.

He believes he has cleared himself of the accusations and has the documents needed to convince his club that he is innocent.

"I have papers from the Beninoise, Nigerian Foreign Ministry and other relevant bodies saying the shipping agency was not involved in any wrongdoing and our company is clean.

"My concern now is to return to Germany this week, meet with Wolfsburg officials and talk things over so I can continue with my club career," he said.

Struggles with Nigeria

The player likens his current situation to his inability to win many international caps, limited as he has been by injuries and occasional poor performances.

The whole thing smells of a hate or smear campaign

  Jonathan Akpoborie

"It brings back sad memories of how sometimes I'm dropped by Nigeria from playing in major tournaments or not getting invited to play for my country. But life goes on."

Despite showing tremendous potential which made him a key figure in Nigeria's under-17 and under-20 teams at the World Cup tournaments in 1985 and 1987, respectively, Akpoborie has failed to achieve at the senior level.

He has only been involved in Nigeria's outings at the 1992 African Nations Cup and 1995 Gold Cup tournaments and missed playing in the other major tournaments, sometimes due to injuries but mostly for inexplicable reasons.

The player said: "This latest incident has become a most trying period for me and my family name has been rubbed in the mud.

'Smear campaign'

"The whole thing smells of a hate or smear campaign because Etireno is one of the best of the lot plying the West African coast. And my brothers often tell me they receive threats from other competitors of being dragged down."

He is confident he will return to play for Wolfsburg "very soon", but admits the controversy has tainted "my good relations" with the German side.

"Wolfsburg are a club that wants everything they do to be clean; hence they took the action that I should go and clear my name.

"It's unfortunate that some UNICEF officials used information they were not sure of and didn't verify to mess up someone like me with a good reputation," said Akpoborie, the club's top scorer this season.

"However I'm very confident I will be smiling soon. I'm also 100 per cent sure that I will soon resume doing what I know best - playing football and scoring goals for Wolfsburg."