Two More Bodies Found as Boat Accident Deaths Rise to Seven

The bodies of the last two victims from Tuesday’s boat accident at Robertkiri in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area have been found.

The bodies were recovered on Saturday evening, and their identities have been confirmed.

This recovery comes three days after five bodies were found, making the total number of victims recovered so far seven.

A statement from the media team of the Office of Kula Kingdom, Akuku-Toru LGA, shared this news with journalists.

Fifteen people were on a speedboat when they drowned. This happened while a company was pulling its 200,000-capacity crude oil vessel, Anambra Basin, from the Kula coastal waters after finishing operations in the area. There are still unresolved issues with the local communities.

Seven people died in the accident, while eight were rescued.

Regarding the latest recovered bodies, the statement said, "They were properly identified as Davies Opiri, Secretary of the Kula Community Development Committee, and David Sukubo, younger brother of the President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria."

The bodies were discovered along the creeks and mangroves in the Robertkiri area by a search and rescue team made up of community leaders, divers, local vigilantes, and fishermen.

After their relatives identified them at the Abonnema Divisional Police Headquarters, the bodies were taken to a morgue in Port Harcourt.

The statement also said the people in the area had taken over the crude oil vessel owned by Ibeto Group and two tugboats connected to the incident.

Meanwhile, the Kula Kingdom community has seized the crude oil vessel and two tugboats, Delta Runner and Laura-V, involved in the accident. An investigation is ongoing.

The police have reportedly arrested the two captains of the tugboats for questioning.

After the last two bodies were recovered, Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo, the leader of the search and rescue team and a notable person from Kula, expressed anger about the situation. He claimed it was more than just a boat accident.

He stated that this was not a simple boat mishap but a deliberate act of murder by the Ibeto Group.

"This is havoc committed in Kula Kingdom by Ibeto. He has turned women into widows and children into orphans. He has made families lose their breadwinners, husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins, nephews, and loved ones,” he said.

Sukubo Sara-Igbe also threatened to organize a mass protest next week. He plans to carry the remains of the victims to the home and business locations of the Ibeto Group to push for immediate government action against the company’s owner.

"I have declared a 21-day protest starting next week with 51,000 youths and caskets bearing the remains of the victims.

"We shall protest to the residence of Chief Cletus Ibeto in Port Harcourt and shut down all his companies in Rivers State until he is arrested by security agencies and prosecuted for murder.

"We demand justice for the families of the victims and the affected communities,” he stated.

Last week, the Ibeto Group denied any direct involvement in the issues leading to the accident at the Robertkiri area of the Kula waterways.

The company said that its subsidiary, Max Shipping Services Limited, which operates the crude oil vessel, was hired by Menal Technical Services Limited under a contractual agreement for crude oil evacuation in the area.