a source of concern to the people, as they, daily, live in fear of the
unknown. Worst hit are Azuzuama axis, Koluama, Foropah, Ekeni, Brass,
Nembe and Akassa, all located in different parts of the state, which
are flashpoints for kidnapping, piracy and other criminal activities.
These vices are now a regular feature in the daily life of many people
in the state, and more worrisome is the fact that the victims no
longer report to the police or other security agencies, because of the
lackadaisical approach of these agencies in repelling the criminals.
For the people, the fear of these criminals is the beginning of
wisdom, especially for those plying the Yenagoa-Akassa road, which is,
literally, a no-goarea.
Before the festive period, the maritime workers' union went on strike
twice for what it described as insensitivity of the state government
for not providing adequate security for the grassroots, especially
those living in the rural areas. A victim, Mr. Sam Osaisai, narrated
how he and others were robbed, brutalised and dispossessed of all they
had on them by sea pirates at the Koluama axis of Southern Ijaw River.
Commuters along the Brass waterways also had a taste of the brutality
of the sea pirates who took control for about 24 hours, halting
business activities along that axis, with the security agencies having
no way of checking them.
This festive period witnessed one of the worst situations experienced
by travellers in the Southern Ijaw area, around the Olugbobiri
community, where commuters were maimed, robbed of their belongings and
abandoned in the middle of the sea, according to a victim. A similar
case happened three days ago where travellers were robbed and kept in
the mangrove till late in the night when they were rescued by local
hunters.
Chairman of the maritime workers' union, Comrade Lloyd Sese, while
speaking with newsmen in Yenagoa recently, urged youths involved in
illicit activities along the waterways of the state to drop their arms
and do something meaningful with their lives.
According to him "if not for the constant patrol by the JTF gun boats
along the Azuzuama axis of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area during
the yuletide, that area was a red spot but during the festive period,
there was no report of attacks by sea pirates. "I want to call on JTF,
like Oliver Twist, to deploy more gunboats to Kuluoama, Foropah,
Ekeni, Brass, Nembe and Akassa in order to completely stem presea
pirates' attacks on traders around those areas".
GOVERNMENT AND SECURITY FAILURES
In 2012, when Governor Seriake Dickson assumed office, he stated that
the security of lives and properties of the citizens of the state was
going to be one of his priorities and during a public programme, he
declared that the state had acquired gunboats to complement other
security agencies in fighting sea piracy, kidnapping and other crimes
along the waterways.
These statements appear relevant today because these crimes are still
a daily occurrence with the criminals operating freely. One wonders if
the security services need the permission of the government before
carrying out their constitutional duty of protecting the people, or
does it also mean that the security agents in the state might not have
the intelligence needed to avoid these criminal activities before they
occur? Whichever way one looks at the situation, the government and
security agents are to be held responsible.
To make matters worse, the perpetrators of these crimes, if arrested
are never prosecuted to deter others. Recently, the special team of
the anti-kidnapping and sea robbery squad of the Joint Task Force
operation codenamed Operation Pulo Shield arrested five suspected sea
pirates involved in last week's killing of six soldiers on duty along
the Nembe waterways of the State.
The JTF, at a media briefing anchored by the Head of the Joint Media
Centre of the Task Force, Col. Mustapha Anka, five of the suspected
killers of the soldiers were arrested during a sustained
stop-and-search operation along the waterways and creeks of the State.
According to the statement issued by the JTF, "The arrest is not
unconnected with the attack on the fiber boat belonging to JTF. The
aggressive and continuous day and night raids, stop and search patrols
of the JTF operations along the waterways resulted in the arrest and
recovery of some weapons from the hoodlums."
Read more at DailyTimes:
http://dailytimes.com.ng/who-controls-bayelsa-waterways-pirates-or-govt/
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