'Child slave ship' is owned by Nigerian soccer star

The ship at the centre of a child slavery inquiry is owned by Nigerian footballer Jonathan Akpoborie.

The 32-year-old has admitted the Etireno is his ship - named after his mother - but denies it was involved in any child slavery dealings.

Akpoborie, who plays for German Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg, said he spoke to the captain after seeing the ship on TV.

The captain told him he knew nothing about slaves, but there were 140 passengers and a load of freight on the ship from Benin.

He said problems started when the ship arrived in Libreville, Gabon, where the authorities said the passengers did not have the right papers and also refused to allow the freight to be unloaded.

The ship was then refused entry into Cameroon and finally returned to Benin.

Akpoborie said the child slavery story was started by a French radio station report which was picked up by the world's media.

He has complained that the radio station's apology, which came two days later and admitted his company had nothing to do with slavery, was ignored by the rest of the media.

Akpoborie said he is now seeking legal advice.