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From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The Senate has urged the Chief of Naval Staff, the Inspector-General of Police and other relevant security agencies to immediately deploy coordinated search-and-rescue operations aimed at securing the safe and unconditional release of no fewer than 15 passengers abducted by suspected sea pirates along the Calabar–Oron waterways, including candidates of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
It also called on the Nigerian Navy, the Marine Police and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to strengthen surveillance, patrol and intelligence-gathering operations across the waterways and adjoining creeks.
The upper chamber also directed the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to consider measures that would stop candidates from travelling across state lines to sit for UTME, citing growing safety concerns.
In addition, they directed the Federal Ministry of Works to fast-track work on the Calabar–Itu–Odukpani highway in order to reduce dependence on water transportation in the axis.
These resolutions followed a motion on urgent national importance sponsored by Ekong Sampson, who drew the attention of the Senate to the violent hijack of a commercial ferry conveying passengers from Calabar to Oron last Friday.
Presenting the motion, Sampson described the attack as “heart-rending,” saying the victims, including young Nigerians said to be preparing for the 2026 UTME, were abducted at gunpoint after heavily armed pirates intercepted the vessel mid-sea.
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According to him, the development has thrown affected families into anguish and heightened fear among residents of coastal communities in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
He said, “No fewer than fifteen Nigerians travelling in a commercial ferry from Calabar to Oron were violently abducted by suspected sea pirates. Among them are young people whose aspirations for higher education now hang in the balance.”
The lawmaker further told the Senate that eyewitnesses and local fishermen confirmed that the attackers forcefully took control of the boat before whisking the passengers away to an unknown destination.
Contributing to the debate on the motion, lawmakers expressed serious concern over the worsening state of insecurity on Calabar–Oron waterways, which they described as a major economic and social transport corridor in the Niger Delta.
They lamented that despite repeated assurances from security agencies, incidents of piracy, kidnapping and other violent crimes have continued to persist, thereby undermining public confidence and threatening livelihoods in the region.
To address recurring incidents, the chamber mandated its Committees on Navy, Marine Transport, and National Security and Intelligence to investigate the increasing spate of maritime insecurity in the Niger Delta and recommend lasting solutions.
They warned that failure to decisively tackle insecurity on inland waterways could embolden criminal elements, disrupt commercial activities and further endanger lives in coastal communities.
