By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Calabar
The Nigerian Navy has intensified its crackdown on criminal networks in the southern creeks of Cross River State, uncovering stolen outboard engines and destroying suspected kidnappers’ dens.
The latest operation, conducted along the Calabar waterways, saw naval operatives recover 10 outboard boat engines hidden in nearby bushes and inside a structure close to a residence earlier demolished during a raid.
The building was reportedly linked to a suspected militant identified simply as “Juju,” believed to be a key figure in the area’s criminal network.
Naval forces also seized boats at Dayspring Island as part of the ongoing offensive targeting militants’ logistics and mobility assets.
In a statement, the Director of Naval Information, Abiodun Folorunsho, described the development as fresh operational gains in the sustained campaign against maritime crime.
He explained that the latest कार्रवाई followed an earlier offensive by personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship Victory and the Forward Operating Base Ibaka, which led to the destruction of a major militant hideout in the area.
According to him, troops maintained pressure on suspected enclaves after establishing a forward security outpost at Idung 1, also known as Peacock Crossing, and arresting a suspected collaborator linked to the network.
Folorunsho added that all recovered items were immediately secured for further investigation.
In a separate intelligence-led operation near Akpamfi Creek, suspected militants reportedly fled on sighting advancing naval troops, abandoning two fibre boats and a 200-horsepower outboard engine.
The equipment was subsequently confiscated and moved to the naval security outpost.
The Navy said the operations were aimed at dismantling the logistics network sustaining kidnapping and militant activities, noting that fibre boats and high-powered engines remain critical tools for criminal elements in riverine communities.
It added that the sustained offensive has significantly degraded the militants’ operational capacity, restricted their movement, and denied them safe havens.
The service reaffirmed its commitment to ongoing follow-up operations until all criminal elements are flushed out and the waterways fully secured, while urging residents to provide credible information to support security efforts.
