By Prosper Mene
Hundreds of women from the Bille community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State took to the streets of Port Harcourt on Tuesday, staging a peaceful protest at the Government House to demand the immediate release of eight students abducted by suspected pirates. The students, who were traveling by boat from Port Harcourt to Bille to sit for their West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams, were among 13 passengers kidnapped on May 6, 2025, along the Port Harcourt-Bille waterways.
Clad in black attire and carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Government, Save Us from Sea Pirates,” “Our Children Writing WAEC Are with Pirates in the Bush,” and “Bille People Are Suffering,” the protesters, under the aegis of Concerned People of Bille Kingdom, marched from the State Police Headquarters on Moscow Road to the Government House on Azikiwe Road. Their chants and songs echoed their frustration and anguish over the rising spate of piracy in their waterways.
The protest was sparked by the abduction of the students, who remain in captivity over a week after the incident. According to reports, heavily armed pirates intercepted a speedboat carrying the passengers, diverted it into the creeks, and seized goods and property worth millions of naira. Disturbing allegations have surfaced, with some protesters claiming that the pirates raped some of the abducted female students and disposed of their belongings.
Janet Adebayo, a leader of the protest, presented a formal address to a Government House official, detailing the incident and appealing for urgent intervention. “On May 6, 2025, along the Port Harcourt-Bille waterways, a speedboat carrying 13 passengers was intercepted by heavily armed pirates who diverted them into the creeks,” Adebayo stated. “Our children, who were going to write their WAEC exams, are still in the hands of these criminals. We are begging the government to act swiftly to secure their release.”
Another protester, Alale, a mother from the community, expressed her heartbreak: “These are children going to write WAEC. Their siblings are writing exams, but these ones have missed out on all the papers written so far. We are here to say enough is enough. We need our children back.”
The women’s demonstration has drawn attention to the growing insecurity along the Port Harcourt-Bille waterways, a vital transportation route for the island community. Israel Pepple, Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Port Harcourt Commercial District, condemned the “incessant” pirate attacks and announced that the union may suspend transport operations to press for government action to secure the waterways.
The protesters called on President Bola Tinubu, the Inspector General of Police, the Rivers State Administrator, and the State Commissioner of Police to deploy marine police and naval units to curb the criminal activities plaguing the region. An elderly protester, overcome with emotion, flung herself to the ground outside the Government House, crying, “Government, please help me! My son is inside the creek with sea pirates!”
The Rivers State Police Command has yet to issue an official statement on the abduction or the protest, and no reports have confirmed the release of the captives as of Tuesday evening. The incident follows a series of pirate attacks in the region, including the abduction of five passengers in early April and 18 others in separate incidents reported on May 7, 2025, highlighting the escalating threat to riverine communities.
The Bille women vowed to continue their protests if no concrete action is taken to rescue the abducted students and restore safety to their waterways. For now, the community waits in anguish, hoping for the safe return of their children and an end to the terror on their waters.
