Ogona Anita
The Nigerian Navy says its personnel have rescued 15 passengers aboard a cargo boat from suspected kidnappers.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Sirajo Almustapha, the base operations officer of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (NNFOB), said the incident happened Friday afternoon along the Bonny river in Port Harcourt.
Almustapha said the NNFOB Bonny’s anti-kidnapping team rescued the boat and its crew after suspected armed kidnappers commandeered it into a creek around Opuadakiri Creek along the Bonny-Port Harcourt Sea route.
“During the patrol, security checks were carried out on passenger boats plying through the area,” the statement reads.
“At about 02:20 pm, the team received a report that 15 passengers in a market boat were forced into a creek by unknown armed men suspected to be kidnappers around the Opuadakiri community.
“On receipt of the report, FOB BONNY patrol team swiftly moved into the creek in pursuit. However, on sighting the naval gunboats, the criminals abandoned the boat and escaped. The FOB BONNY patrol team rescued the victims unhurt.”
Almustapha said the boat was en enroute Port Harcourt from Bonny Island, adding that information from the crew revealed that the suspected kidnappers were four in number, while one man was armed with a rifle.
He said the navy has put measures in place to nab the suspects and to safeguard the waterways.
