Following incessant pirate attacks in Rivers State, boat operators have called on the Nigerian Navy and Marine Police to ensure regular patrol of riverine communities for safety of lives and property.
This is as boat drivers have lamented low patronage of passengers at various jetties across the state due to the menace.  Speaking with The Tide on the development, a boat driver, Mr. Jackreh Brown, called on the government to deploy more security agents and gunboats to all the waterways in the state, especially Billie and Andoni waterways, to curb sea robbery.
He admonished the Navy and the Marine Police to ensure total surveillance of the entire waterways across the state, especially as the Yuletide season approaches.
Brown noted that the attacks on boat drivers and passengers along the riverine communities had brought economic hardships to the people, saying most operators had fled the areas.
The driver, who lamented that one person was killed at Billie recently, said boat operators often lost valuables worth over N20 million to pirates within one week.
“Passengers are afraid to travel by boat anymore to Port Harcourt and to the communities for fear of been attacked or robbed by sea robbers.
“The act of piracy has also affected our fishermen, they are afraid of going to the river to fish, because these hoodlums may kill them”, he said.
He appealed to the state government and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to provide security across the rivers and seas in the state.
Another boat driver, Johnbull Green, noted that many passengers had abandoned water transportation for fear of being attacked and killed by pirates.
Green who plies Port Harcourt-Bonny Island route said that the menace of sea robbers has negatively affected socio-economic activities in the riverine communities.
The driver said that unlike before when over 10  to 15 boats were conveying passengers from Port Harcourt to Bonny Island on daily basis, most of the jetties now found it difficult to load two boats per day.
Green also noted that piracy had scared away many potential investors from Bonny and other riverine communities, and appealed to the state government to create employment and skills acquisition for the jobless youths to curb the act.

By: Chinedu Wosu