Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt
Gunmen suspected to be pirates have killed one person and abducted two others during an attack on a passenger boat along Isaka Rivers, Okrika Local Government Area, Rivers State.
It was gathered that the passengers were travelling from PortHarcourt to Bonny at about 10am on Monday when the pirates hijacked their boats and fled with two occupants said to be wealthy.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said, ” A new boat with new engine was hijacked this morning at Isaka area, that is the latest mode of crime on waterways , when they see new boats with new engine, they attack it and offload the passengers at the creek, so as usual, the passengers were dropped at the creek while the hoodlums whisked away two people believed to be rich among them.
“The reoccurrence of pirates attack has been a source of concern, we are no longer safe and the saddest thing is that nothing is being done by relevant authorities to stop this menace.
“On Sunday, November 29, 2020, pirates also attacked passengers at Owokiri/Opopo Riser, and whisked away one person. These hoodlums are known. They are highly connected with top contractors working with multinational oil companies in the state but nobody seems to care.”
The source said one of the suspects had been arrested and urged security agencies to intensify surveillance in the coastal communities.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident.
He, however, said the police were taking drastic actions to contain the wave of attacks on waterways.
Omoni said, “We have only five gunboats in the state to cover the coastal communities. We are utilizing them judiciously to cover such areas but we need the cooperation of the communities to achieve optimum security
“We need information from them and the earlier they share the information with the police, the better for us, security of the waterways should not be a one-way traffic, it needs adequate collaboration between the police and the communities to fight such menace.”
