DEEP BLUE ASSETS: Pirates Dare NIMASA Again, Kidnap 5 Passengers in Onne
Barely one month after Kidnapping five members of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) in Rivers State, there are indications that sea pirates have adopted another modus operandi even in the face of deep blue assets recently launched by Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)
The sea pirates kidnapped two females and three male passengers from a passenger speedboat in the early hours of Tuesday, August 10, 2021, along the Bonny River, very close to the Federal Ocean Terminal located in Onne, Rivers State.
The Officer-in-Charge of the Marine Police in Bonny, Solomon Adeniyi, a Superintendent of Police who disclosed this to the Media in Bonny said that five people were kidnapped after Onne in a 10 passenger speedboat around 07:30hours, on Tuesday morning.
He stated that the victims were “two females and three males,” clarifying that “based on jurisdiction, the incident has been reported to the Marine Police in Port Harcourt by the boat driver, while we assist them to rescue the victims.
An official of the Bonny Youth Federation (BYF), who preferred anonymity said that “the attacked speedboat was a one-outboard-engine-powered speedboat that carried 10 passengers who were on their way from Bonny to Port Harcourt this 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.
Recall that the five kidnapped MWUN members were later rescued last month following an intervention by NIMASA