Godfrey George tells the story of five men who were kidnapped in the Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State in September 2020 at the funeral of an influential man and have not been seen since then

Dreaming is the only way Nelly feels closer to his missing father. Whenever his eyelids close to this world, they open up in another, where his father, Dagogo Jackmay, pays him a visit in his sleep.

Dagogo, a middle-aged small-scale contractor, alongside four other men from Bonny Local Government Area, Rivers State, on September 12, 2020, were abducted by gunmen at the funeral of a prominent chief, Amaopusenibo Kalada-Banigo.

It has been almost three years and they have not returned home.

The gunmen took with them that day, not just the men, but the hopes of five families.

The last time Nelly saw his father was the day before the incident.

His father had asked him to accompany him to where he (Dagogo) would board a taxi to the Bonny Jetty

As they both walked together, father and son, hand-in-hand, Dagogo told Nelly he was proud of him and shared the plans he had for him and their family.

Specifically, he shared how the coming of the Train 7 project by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas would change their lives.

These promises, like shadows, vanished with the darkness that enveloped them the moment relatives called his mother, Cordelia, to tell her that Dagogo had been kidnapped.

Nelly did not know until he saw a picture of his father online, collaged with those of the other victims. It was tagged, ‘The Banigo Five Kidnap’, named after the village where the incident happened.

“It was like my soul left my body. I was shocked and I did not even know who to ask if what I saw was true,” Nelly said when our correspondent visited his home in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Hope and hopelessness

Nelly said though his father had yet to hit it big, he was hard-working and could go to any length to provide for their family.

To make ends meet, Dagogo reportedly spent more time in Bonny than he did with his family in Port Harcourt.

Nelly stated that he occasionally sent money home, and always called to find out how they were doing.

“In a year, he might spend three months with us and the remaining nine in Bonny, where he worked on different jobs and contracts to put food on our table,” Nelly stated.

His mother worked as a school administrator with a government school.

Her salary is barely enough to do much, but Nelly said with combined efforts from his parents, they lived ‘comfortably’. Until his father was kidnapped.

Multiple sources, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH about the incident, said everything happened fast.

The pallbearers had carried the remains of Chief Banigo to the cemetery and as he was being interred, some masked men, riding on a boat and armed to the teeth, stormed the premises, desecrated the corpse and shot sporadically, wounding many.

They whisked along with them five men – Warisenibo Daniel Hart, Thompson Micah, Theophilus Ibiama, Dagogo, and his friend, Sunny Hart.

The burial was held In Finiapiri-Ama (Amauda) village, Banigo Isile-Ogono community, Bonny.

The then-leader of the Bonny Legislative Assembly, Miriam Hart, was severely injured and rushed to an undisclosed hospital in Port Harcourt, where sources said she fought for her life for months.

Some high-profile guests, who were at the event that day were the then Chairman of Bonny LGA, the late David Rogers-Irimagha; the lawmaker representing Bonny Constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Abinye Pepple; and the LGA Peoples Democratic Party Chairman, Daniel Wilcox, who escaped by a whisker.

Other survivors included the Deputy Leader of the Eighth Assembly, Dieprinye Jumbo; the then Chief Whip of the House, Fiberesima Pepple; a councillor representing Ward Two, Kingston Robert Hart; among others.

A source told Saturday PUNCH that one of the victims, Sunny, was the husband of the first daughter of the deceased, who was a senior magistrate with the Rivers State Judiciary.

The then Rivers State Police command spokesperson, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident and said investigations were ongoing to unmask the perpetrators.

Almost three years later, the criminals are still at large and the victims too, are nowhere to be found, dead or alive.

Nelly said his mother received a call from one of their extended relatives, who claimed the kidnappers demanded N60m for his father’s release.

“Even if we sell this house and everything in it, it will not give us N60m. So, we knew that our hopes were slim,” he said.

Confused about what to do, Nelly said his mother began to make calls to potential donors, who they thought could help.

But after a few days, nothing substantial was raised.

The 45-year-old woman said she was left with four kids to care for on a salary that was barely enough when her husband was around.

Buried without corpse

As the kidnappers called the Jackmays, they also called the family of Daniel Hart.

Their breadwinner, who is a titled citizen in Bonny, Daniel, was among the victims.

His daughter, Rita, recounting the incident in tears, said the family had not been the same since her father’s disappearance.

In an earlier interview, days after her father’s kidnap, she said the kidnappers demanded N10m for the release of the Warisenibo.

She said the morning after the kidnap, the abductors called and told them that they would keep beating her father till the money was paid.

Stressing that the family would not be able to afford the huge sum, she begged the authorities to secure her father’s release.

Her mother, Ibifiri, said she was afraid that her husband might die as he was diabetic.

Sunny, who was also kidnapped, is Daniel’s younger brother, Saturday PUNCH learnt

Ibifiri said her husband was a victim of mistaken identity, as he was not as wealthy as the hoodlums thought.

She said since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband did not go out because of his ill health.

Narrating how he was kidnapped, she said Warisenibo had already joined a boat returning to Bonny Main Town from Ishile-Ogono Banigo when the gunmen struck and carried him and the four others into the creeks.

“I beg the kidnappers to release my husband. He is a retiree and a senior citizen and he is diabetic and prone to cold. I fear for his life.

“It was he and his younger brother, Hon. Sunny Hart that went to bury his father-in-law in Banigo when this incident happened,” she had said.

After a few months of waiting and hoping, the Harts summoned courage and buried the chief without his corpse.

“A burial was organised and some items representing him were put in the coffin and was buried”, a source close to the family told Saturday PUNCH.

Dreams deferred

For 21-year-old Nelly, his dream of becoming a medical doctor has been put on hold since his father’s disappearance.

His distraught family still carries the weight of the hope that one day, Dagogo will show up, thereby putting an end to their nightmare.

But before their eyes, days turned into weeks and weeks into months, as promises from the government and the police rusted with time.

“I thought this will be over in a few days, but it is three years this year. Nothing is happening. Nobody is talking about my father and the other four people anymore. My family is confused. What do we do? Is he (father) alive? Is he dead? It is really depressing for me. At my age, I shouldn’t be thinking about things like this,” he said, clasping both hands together tightly.

His other siblings, a girl and two other boys, will have to grow up with the stinging reality that their father may never come back.

Since the incident, Nelly said life had been difficult for his family and his mother had been struggling to keep the family afloat.

He, too, has had to grow up fast and become a man-child.

Since age 18 when his father was kidnapped, Nelly said he became the father figure in the home.

“I was trying to get to the university two years before my dad was kidnapped. I had even tried out the Post-United Tertiary Matriculation Examination at faraway University of Benin but I did not get the required cut-off mark.

“My father always supported my education but he is nowhere to be found. It feels weird not to have him around,” he added with a heavy sigh.

Sea piracy, kidnapping

Bonny Island, formerly Ibani or Ubani, is an Atlantic oil port in Rivers State.

It lies along the Bonny River, an Eastern tributary of the Niger River, which is six miles (10km) upstream from the Bight of Biafra.

Following the 2006 population census, the population in Bonny was estimated at 302,000.

Originally a traditional trading centre for fish, salt, palm oil and palm kernels, it is occupied by the Ijaw people and was the capital of the 15^th to 19^th century Kingdom of Grand Bonny.

It was also one of the largest slave-exporting depots in West Africa.

In 1790, according to Britannica, about 20,000 people were shipped to America and the Caribbean.

Since 1961, the Island has been the chief shipper of the Delta’s oil, and in 1964, its harbour was enlarged to accommodate vessels of up to 35-foot (11-metre) draft.

The port has numerous storage tanks for the oil brought in by pipelines. The exploration of crude oil and other natural gases and their exportation has been a significant economic booster on Bonny Island.

The NLNG and other oil companies, including Mobil, Agip, and Chevron, have a firm industry. Fishing is a job done by many indigenes who reside along the island’s water coast.

Despite its significant importance to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, the Island does not have any access road connecting it to the rest of the country.

Individuals who wish to travel for any reason board a boat at the local jetty at the waterside and ferry for more than an hour to get to Port Harcourt.

This has opened the LG up to pirates, who kidnap, rape, maim and kill their victims when on this journey.

In 2020 alone, an indigenous analyst, Pipima Kalada-Pepple, said more than 30 attacks were recorded.

He stated, “On January 2, 2020, some sea pirates attacked passengers who were en route to Port Harcourt. No official statement was made on the extent of causality.

“On January 26, 2020, gunmen abducted one Mr Mina Jumbo and Lawrence Green and took them to the creek. Ransom was paid. A policeman was shot dead.

“On February 14, 2020, some sea pirates attacked a vessel belonging to Maersk Tema. They held the crew hostage for weeks.

“On March 2020, Mr Benjamin Mac-Pepples’ father was abducted at Iyoba Ama village for two weeks and himself abducted for eight days. Upon payment of ransom, they were released.

“On September 12, 2020, Bangio village was attacked by some masked gunmen. Five persons were abducted (Mr Sunny Hart, Mr Daniel Hart, Mr Theophilus Ibiama, Mr Thompson Allison and Mr Dagogo Jackmay). Three others were shot and many were injured. Three persons were shot and the ‘Bonny Five’ are still under hostage to date.

“On September 29, sea pirates attacked a boat going to Karr Market, Andoni LGA, from Bonny and some sea pirates attacked the boat and threw a three-month-old baby into the river. The child drowned to death.”

Other incidents included the attack of October 26, 2020, when a boat filled with passengers was offloaded in the mud and a lady was abducted and released later after ransom was paid.

On November 8, 2020, another boat was attacked and the driver was forced to drive into the mangrove in which all the passengers were asked to jump into the muddy mangrove.

Their property was carted away from the grounded boat by the armed men and many passengers sustained injuries.

Another boat was attacked on November 25, 2020; a boat was attacked and one person was shot dead. Property worth millions of naira were lost and some of the passengers were injured. They were rescued the following day.

Another attack happened on November 30, 2020, when a boat en route Bonny from Port Harcourt was hijacked with the passengers, who were asked to strip naked. Two men were kidnapped; they were released after a ransom was paid.

On December 13, 2020, a four-year-old girl, Gabriella Sokari-Tolofari, went missing in Bethel community, close to Dema Village, Bonny.

Her mother, Precious Owunari-Pepple, while speaking to Saturday PUNCH, said the young girl had not been found to date.

The woman, who had come to join the yearly prayer in her village, could not explain how her child got missing when she went to use the waterside toilet.

Precious came to Bethel village on December 12, which was her birthday. The next day, Sunday, she was with her daughter in front of their village house, feeding her.

She claimed that her aunt’s 18-year-old daughter, Dorothy, was also there, among other kids.

When Gabriella complained that she was pressed and needed to use the toilet, Dorothy was asked to accompany her to the waterside.

Precious said she waited for minutes but did not see her daughter but saw Dorathy minutes later, who said she had sent Gabriella back home and thought she had got home.

It became apparent that something had happened to the young child.

Despite all measures to get the child back, which included involving the police who came in with boats to search the waterways for weeks, to date, the young girl has remained missing.

Five days after Gabriella’s disappearance, an NLNG Lagos II reported a pirate threat to the vessel and crew en route to Bonny terminal. Not much was said about this, as the company and government did not follow up with any official statement.

The next day, a Maersk Cadiz (9526459) was attacked by suspected pirates while they were sailing from Tema to Kiribi, South-West Bonny Island.

Two days after the New Year, a boat was hijacked when they were coming back from Iyoba-Ama.

Two days after New Year, a boat, returning from Iyoba-Awa village was hijacked and the passengers who escaped were injured, while others were kidnapped alongside the boat.

Two days after this, two youths, Ibifubara Macdonald and Dienye Allison, were killed when they were coming back from Dema-Abbey village, Bonny.

Reports had it that gunmen attacked the boats and asked passengers to jump into the river so the gunmen would cart away the engines.

More incidents

Daredevil sea pirates struck again on August 10, 2021, kidnapping two females and three male passengers from a passenger speedboat in the early hours of the day.

The passengers were on their way to Bonny from Port Harcourt.

Sources said the kidnap happened very close to the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne, Rivers State.

This came barely one month after five members of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria were kidnapped alongside three other passengers along the same waterways.

They were, however, rescued following an intervention by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.

The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, had broken the news after a phone conversation with the President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Mr Adewale Adeyanju.

Speaking on the August 2021 kidnap, the Officer-in-Charge of the Marine Police in Bonny, SP Solomon Adeniyi, disclosed that five people were kidnapped after Onne in a 10-passenger speedboat around 07:30 am on Tuesday.

An official of the Bonny Youth Federation, who preferred not to have his name in print stated that “the attacked speedboat was a one-outboard-engine-powered speedboat that carried 10 passengers who were on their way from Bonny to Port Harcourt this morning.”

He narrated that five of the passengers were abducted and the other passengers allowed to continue the journey to Port Harcourt, adding that the abductees had yet to be identified and their destination still unknown.

Foreigners not left out

In December 2019, Ships and Ports Limited, an online resource, revealed how no fewer than 19 seafarers, working as the crew members of a tanker vessel identified as Nave Constellation, were kidnapped by pirates along the 100 nautical miles off Bonny Island.

A report by Dryad Global said the attack occurred while the ship was underway on Tuesday.

Eighteen of the taken crew members were believed to be Indians, while one was Turkish.

According to the report, seven crew members were left aboard the tanker.

Dryad said the incident occurred 26nm SE of the Egina terminal, stressing that ships conducting operations at the Egina, Usan and Serpentina terminals were operating at heightened risk in the medium to longer term.

The attack was confirmed by the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre.

“Nineteen crew (members) were identified as missing. The vessel owners notified the Nigerian Navy and MRCC for assistance. The remaining crew sailed a tanker to a safe area,” the report read.

Navios, which is the owner of the ship and Anglo-Eastern Tanker Management (Hong Kong), which is the vessel’s technical manager, also confirmed the incident.

The Hong Kong-flagged crude oil tanker had departed Bonny Offshore Terminal in a fully-laden condition when it was boarded by armed men late on the night of December 3.

“The criminal gang departed the vessel taking 19 of those onboard with them as hostage; 18 Indian nationals and one Turkish national. Seven seafarers remained on board and were instructed to take the tanker to a safe position to await the arrival of a security vessel and other support craft. There was no pollution or damage to the vessel.

“Navios as owners and Anglo Eastern as technical and crew managers’ prime concern is the safety and early return of the 19 persons taken by the pirate gang.

“All the appropriate authorities, including the Flag State, have been alerted and are responding and all the necessary action is being taken to secure their wellbeing and early release,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

This was the sixth maritime security attack and fourth kidnapping incident to occur within 30nm of the South Eastern boundary of the Nigerian EEZ in 2019.

In fact, a more recent incident report, compiled by another indigenous analyst, Dr Abarasi Abbey-Hart, identified more than 39 attacks on the waterways from 2019 to 2021, with records of deaths almost hitting 60.

‘Bonny, two others hotspot for kidnap’

The International Maritime Bureau, in its 2021 Q1 report, noted that the Gulf of Guinea remains the world’s piracy hotspot.

GoG is the region located within the West and Central African coastlines, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.

The countries on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea are Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and Angola.

The report also listed Apapa in Lagos, Brass in Bayelsa and Bonny Island in Rivers State as high-risk waterways.

The report said, “Nigeria (Lagos-Apapa, Off Bayelsa-Brass, and Bonny Island-Port Harcourt): Pirates/robbers are often well armed and violent.

“They have attacked, hijacked, robbed ships and kidnapped crews along and far from the coastal rivers, anchorages ports, and surrounding waters.

“Incidents have also been reported up to about 200 nautical miles from the coast. Generally, all waters in or off Nigeria remain highly risky.

“Vessels are advised to be vigilant as many incidents may also have gone unreported; kidnapping for ransom remains the biggest risk for crews.

“Vessels are advised to take additional measures in these high-risk waters. In the past, tankers were also hijacked and part of cargo was stolen (gas oil).”

This report came at a time when the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency was planning a massive security upgrade on the Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea in particular.

The NIMASA Public Relations Officer, Mr Philip Kyanet, told The PUNCH that NIMASA had begun a massive security upgrade project, which was officially inaugurated in May 2021.

He said the project had an intense focus on the security of the Gulf of Guinea.

The IMB report stated, “The Gulf of Guinea accounted for nearly half (43 per cent) of all reported piracy incidents in the first three months of 2021.

“Thirty-eight incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre in the first three months of 2021, compared with 47 incidents in Q1 2020.

“The Q1 2021 figures are broken down as 33 vessels boarded, two attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon and one vessel hijacked.

“Violence against crews continues with 40 crew kidnapped, two each threatened and taken hostage and one killed.”

Piracy, according to the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, remains of great concern to countries in West and Central Africa, with the worst affected countries being Nigeria, Togo, and Ivory Coast.

Meanwhile, in a 2020 report titled, ‘The economics of the kidnap industry in Nigeria,’ SBM Intelligence expressed concern that in many parts of the country, kidnapping appeared to have become a business, especially for unemployed youths.

The agency warned that kidnapping might increase as the country slipped into recession driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fall in oil prices, as more people were being put out of work.

Kinsmen worry over missing ‘Banigo Five’

Kinsmen of the abducted mourners from Rivers State expressed worries over their whereabouts three years after the unfortunate incident

Calling for their rescue, a group, known as The League, said nothing had been heard of the victims since masked gunmen stormed the burial, shot sporadically and took them to an unknown place.

Its Chancellor, Squadron Leader Olam Allwell-Brown (retd.), noted that despite the strategic economic importance of the Bonny Island to the country, the Island was battling with various security challenges, including armed banditry, militancy, and cult-related clashes along the Bonny-Port Harcourt sea route.

He said, “The activities of gangsters/sea pirates who routinely attack boats, rape, kidnap, dispossess passengers of their property and even kill their victims, have turned the Bonny waterways into a travellers’ nightmare and put the livelihoods of the people and residents of Bonny Kingdom in unmitigated peril.

“The League notes with dismay that to date, five Bonny sons who were kidnapped by criminal gangs on Bonny Island since 12^th September 2020 are still being held hostage with no hope of their release by the abductors’ or their rescue by security agencies.

“The League, therefore, calls on the Federal Government to deploy necessary offensive platforms in men and equipment, including helicopter gunships, along the Bonny-Port Harcourt marine corridor to tackle the emerging threat to the residents of the Bonny Kingdom and the operations of the IOCs, especially the upcoming NLNG Train 7 project.”

Protests

Following the periodic killings and kidnappings, some Rivers State residents in 2021 protested at the Government House, Port Harcourt, calling on the state and FG to come to their aid.

They began at the jetties to ensure no movement was possible. Next, some individuals wrote protest letters to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), asking for immediate intervention.

The citizens condemned the multinational corporations, the monarchy, and the government for not stirring one bit in the daily killings.

For most of Monday, January 11, 2021, the island went into lockdown as residents massed up at Cool Beach to protest the incessant attacks on travellers along the Bonny-Port Harcourt sea route by daredevil sea pirates who rob, maim, kill, or kidnap their victims.

From the information gleaned from posts on the Facebook walls of some of the agitators, the protesters raised a five-point demand to the Amanyanabo and natural ruler of Bonny Kingdom and the chairman of Bonny LGA.

The demands includeed that security houseboats and gunboats with an ambulance should be set up and maintained at strategic points along the Port Harcourt-Bonny sea route and that the Federal Government, Niger Delta Development Commission and the Bonny Ring Road.

Bonny-Bodo Road

Experts and stakeholders in the Bonny Kingdom said the Bonny-Bodo Road project would end the kidnapping menace on the seas, as citizens would have alternatives.

Recently, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, noted that the Bonny-Bodo Road project would further boost Nigeria’s economy on completion.

In a statement by Stephen Kilebi, the ministry’s Director, Press and Public Relations, Ahmed said the 38-kilometre road was one of the NLNG’s corporate social responsibility projects to boost infrastructural development.

Ahmed said the road had three bridges — the Afa Bridge measuring 501.5m; the Opobo Bridge, measuring 713.5m; and the Nanabie Bridge, with 448.5m.

“This road has infrastructural benefits which will bring in opportunities to the people of Bonny and Nigeria at large,” she added.

Also, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said the Bodo-Bonny Road, which would link the mainland of Bodo to the Island of Bonny, home to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited and many oil companies, would be ready for use by December 31, 2023.

The link road, whichh traverses forests, swamps and creeks, will provide a safer mode of movement to Bonny Island where major oil companies carry out their operations.

Before now, the oil majors and other companies spent huge sums of money on helicopter and boat services, sometimes at great risk as well.

The 37.9km road, which has 13 bridges, is being financed by the NLNG under the Federal Government Tax Rebate Scheme and is estimated to cost N200bn.

Already, the construction of the road has provided about 719 direct jobs and 3,050 indirect jobs for youths and people of the host communities and others.

“The completed stretch of the road has reduced travel time to the Afa Creek Jetty (Patrick Waterside) from 40 minutes to five minutes as well as cut travel cost from about N6,000 to N2,000”, a document issued by the office of the minister stated.

It also noted that the completed stretch of the road had provided easy access for residents to their farms, schools and health centres, while the stretch with the first completed major bridge (Afa Creek Bridge) and the sand-filled stretch of the alignment had provided access to the sites of the ongoing Bodo Oil Spill Remediation Project.

The chairman of the Bodo-Bonny Road Project Peace Committee, Alabo LongJohn, said he was excited that the Federal Government was “finally integrating the host communities to Nigeria”.

Although three previous administrations in Nigeria tried to construct the Bodo/Bonny Road, they did not succeed. The road, therefore, remained largely a conceptual variable and continued to feature in every Federal Government budget each year.

NLNG is providing the sum of N200bn for the construction of the road, while the Nigerian Government will return the cash by way of a tax credit.

All eyes are on the incoming government to see if this road can be delivered to the people of the town by the December 2023 timeline as promised by the Buhari regime.

LG boss speaks, police mum

A media aide to Mrs Anengi Barasua, the Local Government Chairman, who refused to give his name, said the council was working ‘tooth and nail’ to make sure that kidnapping and killings became a thing of the past.

“We are working with security agents. We are working with the state government to stop this menace,” he said.

When asked what the council was doing to get the Banigo Five out of captivity, he said, “We have done a lot”.

Asked to give details, he said he could not hear our correspondent again.

“I will call you back,” he stated and disconnected the call.

Further calls put through to his mobile line were not answered. Text messages sent were also not replied to.

The spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, did not answer calls from our reporter or respond to text messages sent to her number as of the time of filing this report. (Saturday PUNCH)

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