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By Ngozi Uwujare
Operatives of the Police Marine of Akwa Ibom State Police Command have rescued 23 fishermen who were victims of kidnapping from the creeks.
A five-man gang of kidnappers abducted the fishermen and kept them at Akwakpa Uruan Local Government Area of the state, the police boss said. They collected a ransom of N2 million from the victims’ families.
Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olatoye Durosimi told Saturday Sun that the fishermen were kidnapped on July 15.
He said the gang members, pretending to be fishermen, bumped into the victims and asked them to get into the boat. “They seized the boat of the victims and put them where they could not come out,” he noted.
CP Durosimi said that following intelligence gathering, Police Marine officers were drafted in and were able to rescue the 23 victims at the creek where the gang of pirates had held them hostage for eight hours.
He said the pirates had earlier kidnapped some victims and taken them to their hideout on the creeks, but said the Police Marine personnel had intercepted them and rescued three victims while they apprehended five suspected pirates.
He informed that the five suspects are in police custody and that they are under investigation.
He further said that on May 20, 2022, the Police Marine personnel encountered a gang of pirates wanting to kidnap the fishermen who were going for their business. He said immediately they sighted the police, they escaped and abandoned their boat and some of their weapons.
Durosimi gave the names of suspected pirates arrested in July 2022 as Wisdom Emmanuel Effiong, 27; Solomon Udak Okon, 32; Eyoh Bassey Antigha, 29, and Asuquo Okon, 30.
He said Wisdom Effiong and Solomon Okon have been involved in several kidnapping incidents on the creeks, noting that they kidnapped ten victims and collected over N7 million as ransom.
“They killed some of the victims that they said refused to cooperate with them and dumped their corpses in the river,” the police boss said.
In a chat with the reporter, Wisdom Effiong said: “We are a gang of pirates that have been terrorising the fishermen and traders. We would pose as fishermen and kidnap our victims. We would force them into our boat and take them to our creek. We would collect the money which they wanted to use for business. Sometimes we collected over N3 million from them, depending on the number of the victims we held hostage in the creeks.
“We killed some of the victims who refused to bring out their money. We didn’t make any calls to their relatives; we only collected any money they carried. Those that we killed, we dumped their corpses in the river. The Police Marine personnel have killed some of our gang members when we had a gun duel with them. When some of our gang members were arrested by Police Marine personnel, we do re-group. It is the economy in this country that prompted us into this kidnapping job.
“We are assisting the Police Marine personnel towards arresting the other gang members who escaped,” he said
Another suspect, Eyoh Antigha said he is the native doctor who give charms to the pirates “so that when we are on the boat, the Police Marine personnel would never see us and overpower us. I always give the kidnappers charm but it has failed us now.”
One of the victims, Mrs. Victoria Pius explained how the victims were abducted. “We were kidnapped from our boat. We thought they are fishermen who wanted to convey us, not knowing that they were kidnappers. They forced us into the boat and beat us mercilessly. They shot into the air severally and asked us to bring out our money with which we wanted to buy our goods in another community.
“They collected N2 million from me which was part of the loan I collected. I have never paid back any amount from it. This is a setback for me. I thank God they didn’t kill us,” she said.
Another victim, Mrs. Bassey Eberoso expressed gratitude to the police for rescuing them from the pirates. “They took us to the police clinic where we received medical treatment. We were also given food. We want to thank the police command for their hospitality,” she said.
CP Durosimi promised that the command would ensure that the state land and waterways remained safe for the people, even as he assured that the suspects would soon be charged to court.
