Gunmen abduct 20 passengers travelling on Nigerian waterways

Twenty passengers who were travelling in a boat from Oron in Akwa Ibom State to Cross River State, have been abducted by gunmen suspected to be pirates, and the victims as ta the time of filing this report have spent seven days in captivity.

Penpushing reports that the abduction happened on April, 18, 2025 and the manifest showed that, the boat is owned by a private transport company called Akwa Cross Boat Management Limited.

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command Public Relations Officer Timfon John, confirmed the incident on Friday. Explaining that it happened in Calabar and not Akwa Ibom state, stressing that the police in Akwa Ibom state were collaborating with their counterparts in Cross River state to ensure the victims were released unhurt.

Penpushing further reports that the Cross River State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, however, said no such incident happened in Cross River state adding that it wasn’t true.

Meanwhile, findings by Penpushing Media showed that passengers to both states now prefer to travel by water because the Calabar-Itu Federal Highway is dilapidated, while the operations of pirates along the Oron-Calabar waterways have remained a threat to passengers’ travel and businesses between Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

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