Pirates Abduct Five Persons at Bonny River

Emmanuel Addeh

At least five persons were yesterday abducted at the Bonny River, close to the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne, after a seven-month reprieve that had seen the frequency of attacks minimised.

An official of the Bonny Youth Federation (BYF), who preferred anonymity, revealed that the attacked speedboat was a one outboard engine powered speedboat that carries 10 passengers which was on its way from Bonny to Port Harcourt early in the morning.

He narrated that five of the passengers were abducted and the other passengers allowed to continue the journey to Port Harcourt, adding that the abductees were yet to be identified and their destination yet unknown.

Calm had returned to the waterways around the areas after the Isaka 12 abduction incident in January, who were eventually released in February.

Officer-in-Charge of the Marine Police in Bonny, Solomon Adeniyi, a Superintendent of Police, was quoted as confirming the incident, disclosing that “five people were kidnapped after Onne on a 10 passenger speedboat around 07:30 a.m.”

He further stated that the victims were two females and three males, clarifying that based on jurisdiction, the incident had been reported to the marine police in Port Harcourt by the boat driver, while efforts were being made to rescue the victims.

Earlier in the year, residents of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State carried out a massive protest on the Island, lamenting the incessant attacks and killings by pirates on their waterway for many years.

The protesters, who were mostly youths resident on the Bonny Island, said some of the indigenes were forced to drown after the pirates attacked their boat, alleging that despite the launch of a special security initiative code-named ‘Operation Sting’, not much had been achieved.