Senate Directs Immediate Rescue of Abducted UTME Candidates, Others in Calabar-Oron Pirate Attack

• Demands sweeping security overhaul of Niger Delta waterways

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate on Thursday ordered security agencies to launch immediate, coordinated rescue operations to secure the release of at least 15 passengers abducted by suspected sea pirates along the Calabar–Oron waterways, including candidates preparing for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The directive followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Senator Ekong Sampson (Akwa Ibom South), who raised alarm over the violent hijack of a commercial ferry conveying passengers from Calabar to Oron last Friday.

Presenting the motion, Sampson described the attack as “heart-rending,” noting that the victims—many of them young Nigerians with aspirations for higher education—were seized at gunpoint after heavily armed pirates ambushed the vessel mid-sea.

According to him, “No fewer than fifteen Nigerians travelling in a commercial ferry from Calabar to Oron were violently abducted by suspected sea pirates.

Among them are young people whose aspirations for higher education now hang in the balance.”

He said eyewitnesses and local fishermen confirmed the attackers forcefully commandeered the boat and whisked the passengers away to unknown destinations, deepening anxiety among residents of coastal communities in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

The Senate expressed grave concern over the growing insecurity on the Calabar–Oron waterways, a critical economic and social transport corridor in the Niger Delta, warning that persistent piracy and kidnapping threaten livelihoods and undermine public confidence.

Lawmakers lamented that despite repeated assurances from security agencies, criminal activities on inland waterways have continued unabated, exposing commuters to grave risks.

Adopting the motion, the upper chamber condemned the attack “in the strongest terms” and commiserated with families of the victims, many of whom have been left in anguish since the incident.

The Senate subsequently urged the Chief of Naval Staff, the Inspector-General of Police and other relevant security agencies to immediately deploy robust and coordinated search-and-rescue operations to ensure the safe and unconditional release of all those abducted.

It further directed the Nigerian Navy, Marine Police and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to scale up surveillance, patrols and intelligence-gathering across the waterways and adjoining creeks to forestall a recurrence.

In a move aimed at addressing the underlying causes of maritime insecurity, the Senate mandated its Committees on Navy, Marine Transport, and National Security and Intelligence to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the rising wave of piracy in the Niger Delta and recommend sustainable solutions.

The chamber also called on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to consider measures that would minimise the need for candidates to travel across states to sit for the UTME, citing safety concerns highlighted by the incident.

Additionally, lawmakers urged the Federal Ministry of Works to fast-track the completion of the Calabar–Itu–Odukpani highway, noting that improved road infrastructure would reduce reliance on water transport routes increasingly targeted by criminals.

The Senate warned that failure to decisively tackle insecurity on Nigeria’s inland waterways could embolden criminal networks, disrupt economic activities and further endanger lives across coastal regions.

The latest directive underscores growing legislative pressure on security agencies to curb piracy and restore confidence in maritime transport, particularly in the Niger Delta, where waterways remain a lifeline for millions of residents.