The people of the coastal settlement of Akassa in the Brass local government area of Bayelsa State have raised alarm over the rising cases of deadly pirates' attacks on their waterways and the attendant loss of lives.
Only last Tuesday, two commercial speedboats were attacked by suspected sea pirates close to Okobotuo fishing settlement long the Akassa-Yenagoa routes leading to the death of one passenger.
The people of the coastal settlement of Akassa in the Brass local government area of Bayelsa State have raised alarm over the rising cases of deadly pirates' attacks on their waterways and the attendant loss of lives.
Only last Tuesday, two commercial speedboats were attacked by suspected sea pirates close to Okobotuo fishing settlement long the Akassa-Yenagoa routes leading to the death of one passenger.
In a petition to the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, the people of Akassa Kingdom, through the Chairman, Akassa National Council of Chiefs (ANCC), Chief Franco A. Samson-Emoh, said only last week innocent commuters on the waterways came under violent attack from armed pirates which left one person dead and properties worth millions of naira carted away.
The leadership of the community in the petition entitled, "Menace of Sea Pirates on the Akassa-Yenagoa route", while condemning the spate of attacks said, "though the ugly activities of sea pirates and the resulting deadly effects is no news, the frequency at which the heinous attacks are launched is now a source of grave concern to them.
"The office of the chairman, Akassa National Council of Chiefs was officially informed on the most recent case of sea pirate attacks on commercial speedboats which took place on January 10, 2012 close to Okobotuo fishing settlement at about 8.30pm. The sea pirates robbed two speedboats again at gun point along the waterways leading to loss of life and properties worth millions of naira."
The community which also copied the Commander of the Joint Military Task Force codenamed Operation Pulo Shield and the Director, State Security Services while pleading with the relevant security agencies to provide surveillance to ensure the safety and security of passengers along the waterways warned that the development if left unchecked would completely destroy the socio economic activities in the area.
The natives in the petition quoted one of the victims of the attack, a marine transporter, Mr. Francis Gijo, as saying "the unknown gunmen in their mask intercepted us, shooting sporadically and then asked us to jump into the river. They took our personal belongings and made away with my Yamaha 75hp engine and the fibre boat. One of the passengers that could not swim was also taken away with the boat. His corpse was found at the Oginibiri sea shore the next day and was taken to the Brass mortuary.
A second passenger boat, the leadership of the community said also came under pirates attack but that no life was lost.
They therefore call on the relevant authorities to deploy security operatives to the waterways with a view to securing the lives and property of passengers plying the routes from the menace of the sea pirates.
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