2nd September, 2024
By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
In a brazen attack early Monday, at least 10 passengers aboard a boat traveling along the Bonny-Port Harcourt waterways were kidnapped by gunmen suspected to be sea pirates.
The incident, which occurred around 7 a.m., has left the community on edge, as details remain scarce at this time.
According to a source, the boat was intercepted by pirates near the Dutch Island, where the armed men forcibly abducted the passengers at gunpoint.
The exact circumstances surrounding the kidnapping by pirates are still unclear, and efforts to contact the Rivers State Police Command for confirmation have been unsuccessful as of this report.
This latest kidnapping follows a series of similar attacks that have plagued the region, prompting concerns from the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN).
Comrade Israel Waribo Pepple, leader of the MWUN’s Rivers Commercial District, recently led a protest to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, decrying the repeated attacks on both members and passengers.
Pepple detailed numerous incidents of piracy and abductions, expressing frustration over the perceived lack of adequate security measures.
He criticised security agencies for focusing their attention primarily on protecting multinational oil companies (IOCs) and their assets, rather than safeguarding the lives of ordinary citizens who rely on these waterways.
“We call on the government to save the lives of our members, whose livelihoods are constantly threatened by these sea pirates,” Pepple said.
“Our people have lost so much to these criminals, and the situation has become unbearable.”
