10 days after, Naval authorities yet to locate abducted sailors 

Ten days after abduction of eight sailors on the Atlantic Ocean, close to Brass waters in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, troops from the Nigerian Navy are yet to locate their whereabouts.

It was gathered that the victims, identified as employees of Tethys Nig. Ltd. and Sylver Global Ltd. were abducted on April 19, about 17 Nautical miles off Brass terminal.

The unidentified gunmen were said to have forcefully boarded the vessel after firing gunshots in the air to instill fear in the sailors.The victims were identified as Smart Kungborde, Isaiah Ebiewe, Christopher Wisben, Gabriel Enayon, Sylvester Ovwigho, Mathew Enegbuma and Kelly Shaka.

The abductors were said to have stolen all their victims’ valuables, hounded them into their speedboats and drove them to an unknown place.It was, however, gathered that troops of the Forward Operation Base (FOB) Fomoso at Egweama in Brass were making some efforts to free the captors, but their efforts is yet to yield any results.

While there has been growing apprehension among the victims’ families, the Naval authorities in the state have continued to keep mute on the matter, following an indication that the affected vessel belonged to a powerful politician and retired senior naval officer from the state.

However, there are indications that the politician and the companies may have established contacts with the gunmen and had gone far in negotiating a ransom to free the abductors.

A senior security source, who spoke anonymously, confirmed the development and said the victims were still held by the kidnappers.Despite the militarisation of the Bayelsa and Niger Delta waterways, the sea is far from safe, as sea pirates abduct and attack seafarers, passengers and community folks on a daily basis.