The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has rescued a group of fishermen abducted by suspected sea pirates and apprehended two suspected electricity vandals in separate operations across the state.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, disclosed the development while addressing journalists at a press conference in Uyo, the state capital.
According to Azare, the fishermen, among them a Ghanaian national, were ambushed and taken hostage by suspected sea pirates while heading towards the Atlantic Ocean through the waterways of Ibeno Local Government Area.
He said operatives attached to the Asawana Mobile Police Base successfully rescued the victims without injuries at the ocean boundary between Akwa Ibom and Rivers states following a gun battle with the suspected pirates.
“Items recovered from the scene include one 200HP outboard engine, one 40HP outboard engine with a W23 flying boat, five 40HP outboard engines, three 9.9HP outboard engines, five containers of mixed PMS, four empty containers, three gas cylinders, mobile phones, 29 SIM cards, one power bank, one starter motor battery, one torchlight and an identity card bearing a NIN number, among other items,” he stated.
The police commissioner also disclosed the arrest of two men suspected of involvement in the vandalisation of electricity infrastructure in the state.
Azare identified the suspects as 31-year-old Chinedu Onwe from Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State and 35-year-old Enobong Jonah of Otoro Abak Village in Abak Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.
He alleged that the suspects vandalised a community transformer in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area and removed several components, which they initially loaded into a tricycle before transferring the stolen materials into a red minibus.
The commissioner added that police operatives later intercepted the vehicle along the Etinan route. However, the suspects reportedly abandoned the vehicle and escaped into a nearby bush after exchanging gunfire with the police.
