Following the spate of sea attacks along Bonny waterways, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Rivers State chapter, is calling on the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to tackle insecurity at the waterways.
The state Chairman of MWUN, Comrade John Jonah, made the call during a telephone interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt at the weekend.
He noted that pirate attacks had negatively affected the socio-economic activities in the Island, thereby creating poverty and hardship.
Jonah, who appealed to NIMASA and the Navy to provide security along the waterways to secure lives and property, also called for permanent solution to the menace.
He said that pirates had been terrorising passengers and boat drivers along the creeks and waterways of the state, thereby making socio-economic activities in the riverine communities unviable.
“Pirates keep on collecting our boats, cart away passengers’ valuables and sometimes killed water users.
“We have lost millions of naira and valuables to sea pirates in our riverine communities”, he said.
He advised boat drivers against night travelling, urging them to obey all maritime rules and regulations.
It would be recalled that the Bonny community recently staged a peaceful #EndSeapirates protest in the Island and Port Harcourt against the killings and abduction of their husbands and wives.

By: Chinedu Wosu