A military helicopter has fired shots at travellers in a cargo boat conveying goods to Bonny Island.
The shooting comes barely 48 hours after the Bonny Improvement Association (BIA) called for a revisit of issues relating to security on Bonny waterways.
Reports say the military chopper descended below 500 meters above sea level before opening fire on the passengers who were mainly deckhands working on the boat.
Casualty figures are unknown as of the time of filing this report.
Though details were sketchy as at the time of this report, eyewitnesses say an unidentified military chopper descended to about 500 meters above sea level and opened fire on the passengers, who were mainly deckhands working on the boat, and injuring a yet-to ascertained number of persons.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred within the Dutch Island area.
Another boat driver who witnessed the incident said the boat conveys garri, rice, with other things and everybody knows that that is the source of quick transporting of foodstuffs to Bonny; the boat left Port Harcourt, making its way to Bonny.
He said: “It is not hidden, everybody saw it, the chopper flew through this way na, I can’t even call it chopper, it is a military flight because if it’s not a military flight, the ordinary chopper cannot just start shooting people.”
Solomon Adeniyi, a Superintendent of Police in charge of marine police in Bonny said he received a report on the incident.
He said that efforts are in top gear to get further details on the incident.
According to him, victims of the attack, which he said happened along the Bonny River at Dutch Island in Okrika LGA, were currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Okrika while the other survivors were being conveyed to Bonny.
