No fewer than 20 passengers, including candidates of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), were reportedly abducted by sea pirates along the Calabar waterways on Friday.
A naval officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident, saying gunmen ambushed a passenger ferry travelling from Calabar in Cross River State to Oron in Akwa Ibom State. He said the pirates struck while the ferry was on the waterway and whisked away the passengers at gunpoint. Although the exact number of abducted passengers could not be immediately ascertained, it was gathered that many of the victims were candidates going to sit for the JAMB examination in Akwa Ibom State. The Cross River State Police Command neither confirmed nor denied the incident at the time of filing this report, while police spokesperson Sunday Eitokpah said the Akwa Ibom State Command was better positioned to comment on the matter.
The incident has heightened fears over the safety of waterways in the region, especially for candidates travelling for national examinations.
In a separate but related development, the Benue State Police Command arrested seven suspected militia herdsmen in connection with last Wednesday’s abduction of passengers, including UTME candidates, aboard an 18-seater Benue Links bus along the Makurdi–Otukpo highway.
The victims, who included candidates en route to Otukpo for their examinations, have all regained their freedom.
Briefing Governor Hyacinth Alia while presenting the rescued passengers in Makurdi, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ifeanyi Emenari, said the victims were freed through a joint operation involving multiple security agencies.
He explained that five of the passengers were earlier released, while the remaining 13 were rescued, yesterday morning.
“With the earlier release of five occupants of the vehicle, the remaining 13 were rescued this morning (yesterday) unhurt,” Emenari said.
He commended Governor Alia and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) for their support, noting that the deployment of the IGP tactical team helped intensify pressure on the kidnappers. “That is why we were able to mount pressure on the bandits to ensure the victims’ safe return,” he added.Emenari disclosed that eight suspects were currently in police custody, including seven believed to be directly linked to the crime.
“We already have eight suspects in our custody, and out of this number, seven are suspected herdsmen bandits connected with the crime. Some of the victims have been able to identify them,” he said.
He further revealed that the command had launched special operations across the state to flush out criminal elements from forest hideouts, in line with directives from the Inspector-General of Police and the state government.
Receiving the victims, Governor Hyacinth Alia expressed concern over the rising cases of kidnapping in parts of the state but welcomed the safe return of all 18 passengers.
