11 marine travellers missing after pirates attack in Rivers

No less than eleven marine travellers are missing after a suspected pirates attack along the Bonny waterways on Tuesday.

The passengers were said to have boarded the boat from the Bille jetty en route the Bonny Island when the boat was allegedly hijacked by the gunmen.

Henry Jumbo, the chairman of Bonny Maritime Workers, while confirming the development on Wednesday, said the boat left the jetty at about 8 am on Tuesday and nothing has been heard from any of the passengers, including the boat driver since then.

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In January, residents of the island protested in Port Harcourt following the incessant pirates’ attacks on the waterways.

The protest followed the killing of two youths who were pushed into the sea by the pirates during an attack on travellers that months.

The protesters urged the Rivers State government and the security agents to tackle the issue of piracy on the waterways as most of them can no longer travel to and fro Port Harcourt for fear of being killed.

When contacted, the public relations officer of the Rivers State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, said the command has launched an operation to rescue the passengers.