Pirates abduct 5 maritime workers, 3 others in Rivers

Gunmen, suspected to be sea pirates on Monday abducted eight passengers from a boat along the Kula- Abonnema- Port Harcourt waterways in Rivers State.

Chairman of the Rivers State branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Jonah Jumbo who disclosed this said five of the abducted persons were members of the union.

He added that the MWUN members were traveling from Kula in Akuku-Toro Local Government Area of the State to attend official meeting in Port Harcourt before they were abducted on the waterway.

While speaking on the incident when he appeared on a Port Harcourt based radio station, Nigeria info fm, Jumbo said: “The Kula unit and the Abonnema Unit of our union were invited for a meeting in Port Harcourt, but we got reports that as they were sailing from Kula, they were intercepted by armed men and kidnapped. Five of them are our members, in addition to three others among who was a woman.

“We sincerely appeal to members of the public, security agencies and the government to do everything possible to free the victims, “Jumbo said.

At time of filing this report the Rivers State Police Command had not commented on the incident.