Russian sailors from the tanker African Pride, released from Nigerian prison, has left the country. Their plane took off to London, reported the Russian consulate official from Nigerian capital. On December 27 evening they change the plane and arrive to Moscow by Aeroflot plane on December 28 morning. The tanker African Pride with 12 Russian sailors on board was detained by Nigerian patrol boat on November 8, 2003. According to Nigerian authorities’ declaration, crude oil was discovered on board. The crew was arrested on suspicion of oil smuggling. Russian sailors were taken to high security prison, and transferred to common gaol only a year after. All together, the sailors spent in prison about two years. They left the prison only on September 12, when the court granted them bail. They resided on the territory of Russian trade mission in Lagos. On December 14, 2005, the court determined to free them. However, they couldn’t manage to return home for some time. The term of their visas was reported to expire and they couldn’t leave the country. Ara Abramyan, the UNESCO ambassador of good will, explained, that two-week delay was caused by inconsistency in the local immigration service work, as they didn’t receive the official confirmation of the sailors’ release.