Gunmen attack passenger boat in Bayelsa

By Nathan Nwakamma

Fourteen passengers and a helmsman were ambushed on a boat by gunmen on New Year’s Eve in Bayelsa state.

The boat left Yenagoa en-route Twon-Brass in Brass Local Government Area when the gunmen struck, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

They made away with the 115-horsepower Yamaha outboard engine of the boat and dispossessed the passengers of their valuables.

Mr Ogoniba Ipigansi, the Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria said that the passengers were left unhurt.

“The gunmen dumped the driver and the passengers in the bush before carting away the outboard engine,’’ he said.

Ipigansi also said that a rescue team had been dispatched to the scene of the incident.