Rivers community protests pirate attacks, victims recount ordeals
Hundreds of Bonny residents in Rivers State, on Tuesday, marched around their community in protest against continued pirate attacks, including the hijack of boats on the waterway and creeks.
The protesters, comprising mainly of youths, carried placards with different inscriptions calling for government action in ending the menace and preventing further loss of lives and property.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards were: “End Bonny killings”, “End sea piracy in Bonny”, and “We want government protection”, among others.
A resident said they were marching round the community to create awareness and to call on the government and security agencies to rise to the occasion.
Other protesters read out a list of victims of insecurity in the coastal area, which could only be accessed by boat, even as they lamented that the whereabouts of four of the indigenes, who were kidnapped by gunmen at a funeral five months ago were still unknown.
Recall that the Rivers State Government had donated gunboats and patrol vehicles to security agencies in July 2019 during a launch of a special security initiative codenamed, ‘Operation Sting’, as the Bonny Local Government area can only be accessed through the high sea.
Some victims of the boat hijacks in the area have recounted their ordeals in the hands of pirates, even as an attack on January 5, 2021, left two persons dead.
