Port Harcourt, Rivers State – Six indigenes of Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State have been released after spending 12 agonising days in captivity. The victims, who were abducted by armed sea pirates on April 4, 2025, near the New Calabar River while traveling to Port Harcourt, regained their freedom following the payment of a N28 million ransom, Africa Update has learned.
The group consisted of one woman and five men. Upon their release, some of the victims recounted harrowing experiences of torture, theft, brutality, hunger, and starvation during their time in the kidnappers’ den. They are currently receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Port Harcourt.
Speaking from their hospital beds, the victims alleged that their captors identified themselves as Ijaw youths from Bayelsa State. They claimed the kidnappers threatened that they were specifically sent to abduct and kill Bille people as a reprisal for allegedly aiding in the disruption of illegal oil bunkering (“kpofire”) activities in the region.
“They blindfolded us, took us into a thick mangrove, tortured us, collected our phones, searched our bank alerts and withdrew all the money in our accounts,” one of the victims recounted.
“They initially demanded a N60 million ransom, but our people managed to negotiate it down to N28 million, which was paid before we were released. We spent 12 days in the kidnappers’ den,” another victim stated.
The survivors described the inhumane conditions they endured, saying, “For the 12 days we spent, there was no food or water given to us; what they brought to us twice was raw garri, nothing to drink it with. We survived by God’s grace.”
The victims are now urgently appealing to the government to enhance security measures on the Bille waterways. They specifically requested the deployment of gunboats and a visible security presence at least every 200 meters to ensure the safety of travelers, emphasising that their lives are constantly under threat as the waterways are no longer safe.
Furthermore, they demanded a thorough investigation into the kidnappers’ claims of being sent after the Bille people. “Government should send in gunboats in all the creeks. They should not be on the ocean alone. They should come to our rescue or allow and empower community boys to carry out local security on the waterways,” they pleaded.
They also recalled a period of relative safety on the river three years prior when community policing was in effect, before the government allegedly restricted their operations. “Now our lives are in danger and being threatened because there’s no security on our waterways,” they lamented.
“The government should investigate who sent them, where are they from? Government should help the Bille people, we are dying. Today we came back alive, the next kidnapped victims may not come back alive,” one of the victims passionately stated.
“The river is too rough for people to travel when there is no government security presence. Every 200 meters there should be a gunboat or military personnel stationed,” another added. “If the government is unable to secure the river, they should give Bille security power to secure the river so it can be safe for us to travel on.”
