Protest breaks out in Bonny (PHOTOS)

Residents of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State on Monday converged at the Coal Beach to protest incessant pirate attacks and killing of their loved ones on their waterways for many years.

The organizers of the protest had earlier stated that the peaceful protest tagged #EndSeaPiracy will start from the Coal Beach, from where they will march through the streets to the King Perekule Palace, close to Ikuba Square in the Madupolo precinct of the town.

From there the protesting party will march through the Mission Road and then through Hospital Road to the Secretariat of the Bonny Local Government Council.

During the protest on Monday, the youths lamented over the death of their loved ones citing how two indigenes drowned in the river after pirates attacked their boat on January 5, 2021.

They added that the pirates after the attack made away with valuables from the passengers, and asked them to jump into the high sea.

Armed pirates attacked two boats ferrying passengers to Bonny on Tuesday, January 5, 2021, at about 8pm, killing two persons, Macdonald Ibifubara Banigo and Kingsley Tamunodienye Allison after flogging them mercilessly on the head with paddles and butchering their bodies with knives and other dangerous weapons, while ordering the rest into the chilling water to drown.

The incident happened almost four months after pirates kidnapped five members at Banigo Community in the State.

These incidents triggered the irate youths to protest the failure of relevant authorities to checkmate the rising pirate attacks on the waterways around Bonny LGA.

Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, in July 2019 launched a new state security outfit code-named ‘Operation Sting’ to improve the security of lives and property across the State.

In executing its operation, patrol vehicles and gunboats were donated to the security outfit to tackle violent crimes on roads and waterways in the State.

Last week, the Rivers State Police Command also deployed 366 special constabularies to various localities for its community policing initiative.

The protesters however insisted that there has been no improvement in the security situation in Bonny.