By Felix Asuquo, Calabar
The Nigerian Navy has rescued 22 passengers after suspected sea robbers hijacked their wooden passenger boat along the Calabar-Oron-Ibaka waterway in Cross River State.
The rescue operation was carried out by the Forward Operating Base, Ibaka, in collaboration with Operation Delta Safe Sector 4 and the Marine Police.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, when the passenger boat, which was travelling from Henshaw Town Beach in Calabar to Utan Uyata, Ibaka, was attacked shortly after passing the Enwang community.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by the Commanding Officer of FOB Ibaka, Navy Capt. Adebowale Omotosho, five armed men operating in a speedboat ambushed the vessel and took control of the boat and its passengers.
Omotosho said the Navy responded swiftly after receiving intelligence about the attack, deploying personnel to conduct sustained patrols and establish a strategic blockade along the creek networks.
The pressure from the pursuing naval gunboats reportedly forced the suspected sea robbers to abandon the hijacked boat and their victims at Asak-Ikang Creek on Wednesday before fleeing towards Oron.
The statement said naval personnel, alongside collaborating security agencies, immediately swept the creek and rescued 11 passengers who had been left behind by the attackers.
It added that another 11 passengers who escaped during the initial attack were later located and debriefed at the Operation Delta Safe Sector 4 command post.
This brought the total number of rescued and accounted-for victims to 22.
The rescued passengers were taken to the FOB Ibaka Sickbay, where they received medical evaluation and first aid before being escorted back to Calabar.
The hijacked wooden passenger boat was also recovered during the operation, the Navy said the rescue was achieved without the payment of any ransom.
Speaking on the development, the Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Chiedozie Okehie, reaffirmed the Nigerian Navy’s commitment to protecting the nation’s maritime domain and ensuring the safety of citizens using the waterways.
Okehie said the Navy would continue to sustain its patrols, strengthen inter-agency collaboration and deploy timely intelligence to tackle maritime criminality.
He also assured law-abiding citizens plying the nation’s waterways of the Navy’s continued efforts to safeguard maritime activities and protect lives and property.
