A coordinated security operation is under way on the Calabar–Oron waterway after 15 passengers were abducted by gunmen who ambushed a passenger ferry along the busy maritime corridor.

The Cross River State Police Command confirmed that the victims were seized when armed men intercepted the boat travelling from Calabar in Cross River State to Oron in neighbouring Akwa Ibom State. The attackers were said to have emerged from the creeks, forcing the vessel to a halt before whisking away the passengers to an unknown location.

Police spokesperson ASP Sunday Eitokpah said security agencies have launched a joint search-and-rescue mission, combining marine patrols, intelligence gathering and tactical deployments across the riverine communities that straddle the route.

According to him, the operation involves close collaboration between the Cross River and Akwa Ibom police commands as well as the Nigerian Navy, which maintains a presence along the coastal and inland waterways in the region. Security teams are combing suspected hideouts in the mangrove swamps and creeks believed to serve as staging grounds and escape routes for criminal gangs.

A naval officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ambush bore the hallmarks of previous attacks on the route, where gunmen typically target commercial ferries and smaller passenger boats, hoping to secure ransom from abducted travellers.

The Calabar–Oron waterway is a critical transport link for residents, traders and tourists, offering a faster alternative to the often dilapidated and congested road network between the two states. Dozens of ferries and smaller boats ply the channel daily, carrying people, foodstuffs and other goods across the lower reaches of the Cross River and its adjoining creeks.

However, the same geography that makes the route commercially attractive has also turned it into a hotspot for piracy and kidnapping. The maze of creeks, inlets and mangrove forests provides natural cover for armed groups, complicating surveillance and rapid response by security forces.

Local residents and transport operators have repeatedly called for a permanent security presence on the waterway, including more naval patrols, better lighting and tracking of commercial boats, and stricter regulation of informal jetties that can be exploited by criminal networks.

Police authorities have urged commuters and boat operators to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious movements along the route as the rescue operation continues.