Gunmen cut fisherman’s hand, steal engines in Akwa Ibom

Gunmen have cut off the hand of a fisherman and stolen seven outboard engines during an attack on fishermen in Ini-Ikwe, a fishing settlement in Onna Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

Spokesman of the fishermen, Ernest Charlie, told the local government chairman, Elder Iniabasi Ekanem, that an outboard engine cost about a million naira.

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He said the fishermen were terrorised and their source of livelihood threatened, adding that their safety was no longer guaranteed.

Charlie appealed to Governor Udom Emmanuel and the chairman to deploy a surveillance boat to help curb the endless attacks from gunmen.

Ekanem expressed dismay over the attacks on the waterways, noting that the council was collaborating with security agencies to tackle insecurity in the area.

The chairman who was represented by the Dean of Supervisors, Mr Phillip Ambrose, sympathised with the fishermen and promised to report back to the authority even as he urged them to remain calm and not take laws into their own hands.