Rivers pirates hijack boat, one feared dead

A mid sea attack by suspected Sea pirates has left casualties in its trail according to sources. Africa Update gathered that the pirates on June 5, attacked two boats conveying passengers from Abonnema to Kula community both in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Unconfirmed sources revealed that a female passenger may have lost her life in the attack.

The Maritime Workers Union said the boats were each conveying 12 passengers, most of whom jumped into the river in a bid to escape abduction. The state Chairman of the Nigeria Maritime Workers Union, Israel Pepple, confirmed the incident on Tuesday.

Pepple expressed worry that attacks along the waterways have resurfaced.

He said, “My unit chairman in Abonema and that of the Kula unit called to my attention that two of their boats were hijacked by pirates.

“The information they gave us initially was that a lady was also taken away out of the 24 passengers.

“But around noon, they called back to inform me that the lady was dead and that she was floating on the water.

“They later went and carried her corpse. As I speak with you, her corpse is in Abonema and they have reported the matter to the Marine Police in Abonema.”

He appealed to the state governor, Siminialayi Fubara, to prioritise security along the waterways.

He added, “For now, we are talking about security. You have to secure the waterways. The waterways must be secured for us, our passengers and goods to move.

“That is the most important thing. So let them beef up the security. We need more gunboats and we need increased security patrol from the joint task force, especially the checkpoints.”