Nigeria: at least 12 boat passengers kidnapped by pirates

At least twelve people have been taken hostage by pirates who attacked a boat off the coast of Nigeria, according to the newspaper Leadership.

Nigerian police spokesperson Irene Ugbo reported that the Heavenly Grace was attacked off the port of Calabar in Cross River State. The passengers had boarded in Calabar en route to Oron, in Akwa Ibom State. The assailants, arriving in a speedboat, intercepted the vessel, forced it to stop, and ordered all passengers to board their craft before taking them to an unknown location.

Nigerian police have launched a search operation to locate the kidnappers and rescue the hostages.