A SEA captain who was told he would be burned alive by kidnappers in Nigeria has warned others about seeking their fortune in the troubled region.
Retired seaman Alex Westland, 66, spent five days being held at gunpoint in the jungle after he was seized from his ship off the West African coast.
He was eventually set free after faking a heart attack and his company paid a £50,000 ransom to the gang keeping him captive. He has now written a book about his experiences as a warning to others.
Mr Westland, of Arbroath in Angus, first travelled to Nigeria 11 years ago and says the security situation has deteriorated considerably since he first arrived there.
He said: “I went out as a relief captain for four months and ended up staying for 11 years.
“It was all right at first, but now young people go out there looking for money, but it’s become much more dangerous.
“There used to be areas you knew were bad, but now it’s everywhere. And people are still being encouraged to go out and work there.”
The sailor was sleeping aboard his vessel, the supply ship Saint Patrick, when it was attacked May 13, 2013, by a gang of about 20 pirates armed with AK-47 machine guns who climbed aboard using grappling hooks.
They smashed their way into the ship’s bridge using sledgehammers and took Mr Westland, the only westerner onboard, hostage.
He was led deep into the Nigerian Delta and forced to sit in a hut without food and only a little water while the pirates demanded a ransom from his company.
He said: “They took me into the jungle and made sure that nobody knew where we were going. These guys were not just locals on the make – they were hardened criminals. One stuck a gun in my face and said I would be burned alive if the ransom was not paid.
“He was only about 14 years old. I thought I was never getting out of there alive.
“I was thinking that I had done all this for money and that I would never see my wife and children ever again.”
Away from the jungle, Mr Westland’s bosses in Nigeria’s capital Lagos were in talks with the kidnappers, and police in Scotland were working with his family.
His employers convinced the gang that he needed medication, and they became fearful that they would not receive a ransom if he died. Realising this was his way out, Mr Westland faked a heart attack and the kidnappers were shaken enough to exchange him for less than they had hoped for.
Mr Westland added said: “Even when I was handed over I expected to be shot, and I thought that the kidnappers would just kill everyone and take the money.
“But they let me go and we sailed for land. The first time I felt safe again was when I set foot on the beach.”
l Mr Westland’s book A Captain’s Ransom, is published by the Book Guild.
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