By Jonathan Ugbal
At least a dozen people were abducted Thursday afternoon along the Calabar waterway after gunmen attacked a boat conveying passengers to Oron in Akwa Ibom State from Calabar, Cross River State.
Timfon John, a Deputy Superintendent of Police and Public Relations Officer of the Akwa Ibom State command of the Nigerian Police Force was on the boat alongside the 2019 gubernatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party in Cross River, Eyo Ekpo Esq.
“They stopped our vessel, boarded it, and when their boat was full, they took off,” a passenger (name withheld) told this reporter.
The visibly shaken passenger said he has a family member who was also kidnapped.
The Captain of the boat, a registered ferry service, is said to have turned the boat around and had even damaged one of two engines while trying to outrun the abductors.
The passengers were then quizzed by the Police upon arriving at the Inland Waterways Jetty, their statements taken, and released thereafter to go.
CrossRiverWatch has reached out to the Akwa Ibom and Cross River State commands of the Police for comments.
More details later…