By Fiona Freddy
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Tope Adeleye Elias-Fatile, said: ” We informed the Public that the Ministry has been in constant touch with our Mission in Rome to ascertain the veracity of this report and that more details would be announced when we receive confirmed and accurate information from the Mission.
“Further to this, we have received a reliable report from our Mission in Rome that the dead bodies of Twenty-Six (26) suspected Nigerians all of whom were female between the ages of fourteen and eighteen were discovered on Sunday 5th November, 2017 in the Mediterranean Sea.
“The report indicates that a Spanish Warship, Cantabria, brought the remains of the migrants to Southern Italian Port of Salerno.
“The Italian security officials who made this discovery are yet to confirm if they were murdered and why all who died were female.
“Meanwhile, the Italian Police Chief in Salerno who noted that it appears they drowned, has launched an investigation into the cause of their death to ascertain if they were either tortured or sexually assaulted.
“Indeed, this is a monumental loss and a sad moment to our country. As more investigations are being conducted on the unfortunate incident, the Federal Government wishes to commiserate with the family members of the victims.”
