The Akwa Ibom State Police Command, on Friday, 15 July, rescued twenty eight fishermen kidnapped by a five-man gang in Akwakpa, in the Uruan Local Government Area of the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durosinmi disclosed this at the command headquarters, Ikot Akpanabia Uyo, the state capital.
According to Punch, the Commissioner said the fishermen were rescued with the aid of intelligence and added that as soon as he got the report he drafted the marine officers who were able to rescue the victims at the creeks, where they were held hostage for over eight hours.
He explained that the pirates always posed as fishermen to carry out their nefarious acts on unsuspecting fishermen.
“The 28 men and women you see here are the people rescued by police marine officers. The victims at about 1800hrs yesterday were attacked on the sea by a five-man gang of pirates. They seized their boat and put them where they could not come out.
“The five-armed gang pretending to be fishermen bumped into them and asked them to get into the boat. Fortunately, one of them had the phone number of the local government chairman who later alerted me.
“The usual practice is that they go out on Thursday and come back on a Sunday,” he added.
Durosinmi explained that the command will take the victims to the police clinic for proper medical attention and thereafter reunite them with their families.
He promised to continue to ensure that the state’s land and water remain safe for the people.
One of the victims Iboro Asuquo, said, “The thieves collected everything from us, they collected millions of Naira from different people.”
