Two Arrested As Navy Raids Pirates And Kidnappers’ Den In Bayelsa

Two suspects have been arrested during a raid carried out on pirates’ and kidnappers’ camp in Fununu community in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State by the Nigerian Navy (NN) personnel.

The Director of Naval Information (DINFO), Commodore Aiwuyor Adams-Aliu, in a statement said the raid carried out on Saturday, January 11, 2025, was part of efforts to rid the country’s maritime space of criminal elements.

The statement said several arrests had been made since the flag-off of the operation on December 30, 2024.

“In this instance, the suspected pirates/kidnappers, who use the camp as a hideout engaged NN personnel in a gun duel for over 30 minutes before succumbing to the superior firepower of the Navy team," he said.

“While many criminals fled with gunshot injuries, two suspects (one male and one female) were arrested,” he said.

Adams-Aliu said an AK-56 assault rifle; three locally fabricated guns; five pump-action guns; a foreign double-barrel gun; 68 rounds of 7.62/39mm ammunition, six rounds of 7.62/51mm NATO version ammunition and 25 shotgun cartridges were among items recovered during the operations.

Others include four empty AK rifle magazines, a national ID card, one Monie Point debit card, an MTB SIM card, one Itel phone, an Infinix smartphone, N11,500 cash, a chainsaw engine, one chainsaw machine, a hand saw, an Airtel pack without SIM.

“The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, hereby reiterates that the NN will continue to work assiduously to eradicate criminal activity in Nigeria’s maritime space,” he added.