FOB Commander Seeks End To Activities Of Sea Pirates On Bonny River

Determined to end the activities of sea pirates on Bonny River, the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base NNFOB, Bonny has called on the Rivers State government and the Bonny Local Government to urgently consider deploying ferries on the waterways.

The command noted that ferries are essential as safer, sustainable and subsidized means of transportation, especially for the Bonny-Port Harcourt sea route.

The NNFOB Commanding Officer, Capt. Maksum Mohammed, who made this call recounted how his team averted a tragedy that would have befallen some travelers on Bonny Island, on Thursday.

He explained that his team rescued all 20 travelers including three children, an infant and his mother who were sailing from Port Harcourt to Bonny Island.

According to him, while conducting an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission of the general area between the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne and Dawes Island in Okrika LGA, his team came in contact with an outboard-powered engine speedboat which was stranded on the sea.

They waited out on the speedboat to fix its faulty engine and let it continue its sail to Bonny, only to encounter it again and after evaluating the situation decided its engines were apparently unfixable in the circumstance, shut it down and transloaded its passengers to the Navy fastboat and conveyed them to Bonny.

The NNFOB Commanding Officer expressed serious concern over the incident, querying “what if it rained and the weather became turbulent? What would have been the fate of the children in that boat, especially, the infant and his mother?”

He described the incident as a clear case of “willful endangerment of passenger safety. Why would any mariner in his right senses sail with passengers on board a boat which engines were outrightly faulty and unable to sustain an hour’s journey?

“And then we’re also dealing recent cases of attacks on the river; what if these criminals had seen and approached them and taken them captive? What leverage would they have had to escape their assailants? It’s quite unfortunate that hapless passengers could be so exposed to avoidable risks and for the exorbitant amount they pay?”

“We met the boat that broke down or simulated a breakdown in front of a river mouth. We got there and stayed with them until the engine was reactivated. After it rectified this engines, it left us and went ahead and even went out of sight.

“We were carrying out surveillance of the general area, when we concluded our surveillance and continued on our way. We flew our drone in that area because it was in front of a river entrance, one of the river entrances that those criminals have been known to come out from.

“This is just in case, maybe, there was some kind of a plan because nearly all the kidnap incidents occurred where there was an engine failure or simulation in front of a river mouth, which now resulted in the kidnap as they come out and then pick their victims and then carrying on.

“We encountered the same boat again simulating another engine failure in front of another river entrance. Simulating another engine failure – as far as I’m concerned, I’ll use simulation – in a place that is also known for kidnap activities. It was at that point that we decided to evacuate the passengers onto our own boats and continued with the movement.

“It’s obvious that these speedboats are worn-out, rickety and dangerous for passengers as at now. It’s time for the State Government and the Local Government to review the situation in the interest of the people and deploy ferries to convey passengers on this route.”

He emphasized that “the ferries would be safer, sustainable, and also subsize it to make it affordable. The fare is exorbitant, the boats are unserviceable, unsuitable and not fit for purpose at all. It’s time the government intervenes and avails the security agencies the support they need to ensure passenger safety and waterways security.”

Mohammed who further reiterated the commitment of the security agencies in Bonny LGA, especially, the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base, to the safety of travelers on the Bonny-Port Harcourt sea route, noted that “Bonny people are important to us and their safety is a critical issue we are focused on.

“We want the people of Bonny to travel in safety and their families not having to worry about their arrival at their destinations. So, we – the Navy, the Army, every security agency in Bonny – are committed to ensuring that and restoring sanity on the Bonny Channel.”