Seventeen passengers travelling by boat along the Calabar waterway have been abducted by suspected sea pirates, the Cross River State Police Command confirmed on Saturday.
Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Igri Ewa, said the attack took place on Thursday shortly after the boat departed Oron for Calabar. He assured that security operatives had swung into action to secure the victims’ release.
Ewa disclosed that a serving police officer from Akwa Ibom and a prominent Cross River politician, who were also on board, narrowly escaped being seized.
One survivor, who declined to be named, recounted the ordeal:
“They stopped our boat, transferred some passengers to theirs, and when their boat was full, they took off.”
The survivors were later escorted to the Inland Waterways Jetty in Calabar, where police took their statements before allowing them to go home.
The abduction adds to mounting concerns about insecurity along Nigeria’s waterways, where piracy and armed attacks continue to endanger lives and economic activity.
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