Two Cameroonian officials were kidnapped by Nigerian pirates in Idabato, a border town in the Bakassi Peninsula, on 1 October 2024.
One of the hostages, Ewane Roland Ekeh, was freed on 17 March 2025 after spending six months in captivity in Nigeria. The second, Etongo Ismael, remains in captivity.
Since 2021, counter-piracy efforts have led to a reduction in maritime crimes in the region, pushing pirates to focus on hostage-taking for ransom.
Hostage-taking incidents have surged since October 2023, largely due to the region’s proximity to the Niger Delta, where the waters remain largely ungoverned.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reported the presence of Nigerian pirate camps in areas near the Cameroon border.
Colonel Ndikum Azieh, commander of Cameroon’s Delta Rapid Intervention Battalion (RIB), confirmed the existence of nine Nigerian pirate groups active in the Bakassi Peninsula.
According to anonymous testimonies from former captives and Cameroonian soldiers collected by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), these pirate factions maintain well-established bases near Apka Irok, a Nigerian fishing village opposite Kombo a Bedimo in Cameroon.
The groups are said to be highly structured. One such group, led by a figure known as the “Border King”, consists of nearly 270 fighters divided into nine units of 30 men each, led by commanders known as “generals”.
These pirates operate across a wide area, extending into the waters of Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Gabon.
When not engaged in maritime raids, they reportedly kidnap civilians from mangrove swamps and inland areas.
Colonel Azieh said low-value targets, such as women and children, are often abducted during the day, while high-value targets — including government officials — are seized at night in quick strikes involving armed teams on speedboats.
A municipal official in the Bakassi Peninsula told ISS that hostages are typically hidden in remote Nigerian mangroves or isolated fisheries, making escape nearly impossible.
The illicit industry is highly lucrative. An estimated US$400,000 was paid in ransom in Nigeria between July 2022 and June 2023. The funds are distributed among several layers of the criminal network — from leaders and negotiators to assault teams and onshore supporters.
The personal toll on victims and their families is profound. Due to the threat of kidnapping, many civil servants in the Bakassi Peninsula limit their time on the ground, while their families live elsewhere for safety.
This has led to frequent absenteeism and disruption of basic public services.
The growing insecurity threatens regional stability and affects shipping, fishing, and hydrocarbon extraction in the area. However, local and regional law enforcement responses remain inadequate.
Security forces in both Nigeria and Cameroon face operational challenges. In Nigeria, limited resources, such as fuel shortages, hinder anti-piracy missions. In Cameroon, towns like Idabato suffer from under-resourced police and gendarmerie units.
In October 2024, Bernard Okalia Bilai, governor of Cameroon’s South-West Region, imposed a total lockdown on the peninsula.
The measure was met with resistance from residents who were unable to earn a living and exacerbated tensions between Nigerian and Cameroonian communities.
