Abducted Rivers State Travellers Pay N28 Million Ransom for Freedom

Six travellers abducted by suspected sea pirates along the Bille-Port Harcourt waterway in Rivers State have revealed that they paid N28 million in ransom to secure their release after 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.

The victims recounted their harrowing experience, stating 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. One of the victims, Ibikura Biobele, narrated that the kidnappers initially demanded N50 million but later accepted N28 million after prolonged negotiations and pleas from the victims’ families.

The victims have urged the government to deploy more security patrols and reinstate community-based policing structures that had previously kept pirates at bay.

Biobele expressed frustration over the persistent insecurity on the waterways, stating that there is no protection for riverine communities.