We Paid N28million To Regain Our Freedom – Abducted Rivers State Travellers

Six travellers who were abducted by suspected sea pirates along the Bille-Port Harcourt waterway in Rivers State have disclosed that they paid a ransom of ₦28 million to regain their freedom after spending 12 days in captivity.

The travellers, including five men and one woman were kidnapped on April 4, 2025, near the New Calabar River while traveling from Bille Kingdom to Port-Harcourt.

Speaking in Port Harcourt on Friday, the travellers recounted their harrowing ordeal, just as they accused the government of neglecting the safety of riverine communities.

One of the victims, Ibikura Biobele, narrated that the armed pirates ambushed their boat, forcefully dragged them into another vessel, and ferried them deep into the forest where they were tortured, blindfolded, and starved.

“They beat us and told us they resorted to kidnapping because government stopped them from engaging in oil bunkering. They gave us only dry garri to chew — no water. We drank saltwater to stay alive, Biobele said.

He disclosed that the kidnappers initially demanded N50million but later accepted N28million after prolonged negotiations and pleas from the victims’ families.

“We begged them and they finally agreed to release us after collecting N28million. It was by God’s grace we came out alive,” he said.

He expressed frustration over the persistent insecurity on the waterways and urged the government to deploy more security patrols and reinstate community-based policing structures that had previously kept pirates at bay.

“There is no protection on our waterways. Government must deploy gunboats not just in the open ocean but inside the creeks where these attacks happen. Or let the communities protect themselves like before,” he added.