The Nigerian Navy weekend received eight assault gunboats from Rivers State government to boost its fight against oil theft and sea robbery which has become commonplace in the Niger Delta.
At the inauguration of the gunboats in Port Harcourt, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Ibok Ete-Ibas said the eight gunboats would complement another batch of 12 gunboats delivered earlier by the Rivers government, all geared at securing the state maritime environment.
Governor Nyesom Wike has even promised to donate 13 more boat, bringing the government’s contribution to 33.
Vice Admiral Ibas said the gunboats would boost Navy’s patrol capabilities and speed up response of troops to reported crime scenes and thereby discourage criminality on the waterways.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Nigerian Navy are making frantic efforts to locate the whereabouts of eight sailors recently abducted by unknown gunmen in Bayelsa State.
The sailors were reportedly abducted in the Atlantic Ocean, close to Brass waters in Brass Local Government Area of the state.
The victims, identified as employees of Tethys Nigeria Limited and Sylver Global Limited, were abducted on April 19, 2017, about 17 nautical miles, off Brass terminal.
The yet-to-be-identified gunmen were said to have forcibly boarded the vessel after firing several gunshots into the air to scare the sailors.
