Seven Dead After Kula Boat Incident as Community Demands Arrests

By: Tunji Okunlola

Seven people have now died after a boat incident in Kula Kingdom, Rivers State. The last two missing victims were recovered on Saturday, four days after the incident on 20 October 2026. Search teams had been combing the creeks and mangroves around Robertkiri throughout.

The two men were Davies Opiri, secretary of the Kula Community Development Committee, and David Sukubo, younger brother of Datolu Sukubo, who chairs the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) in the Eastern Zone. Community leaders, divers, local vigilantes and fishermen all joined the search. The bodies went first to Abonnema Divisional Police Headquarters so relatives could identify them, then to a morgue in Port Harcourt. Fifteen people were reportedly aboard the speedboat. Eight survived.

How it happened is disputed. The incident came amid tension over the departure of the Anambra Basin, a crude oil vessel operated by Max Shipping Services Limited, a subsidiary of the Ibeto Group. The vessel was leaving Kula waters after finishing its work there. Community leaders say the deaths were deliberate. The Ibeto Group had earlier denied direct responsibility for the dispute that preceded the incident. None of the allegations has been established, and police are investigating.

Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo, who led the search and rescue team, holds the company responsible. He alleges that its founder, Cletus Ibeto, had threatened to kill anyone who tried to block the waterways to stop the vessel leaving. He spoke of widows, orphans and families who had lost their breadwinners, then announced a 21-day protest by 51,000 youths. They plan to march to Ibeto’s home in Port Harcourt and shut the group’s businesses in Rivers State until those responsible are arrested and prosecuted.

The IYC has backed the community. Datolu Sukubo made the council’s position clear during a joint solidarity visit by its Eastern and Western zones. He called for the arrest and prosecution of anyone found culpable, including the owners of the vessel and of two tugboats said to be involved. He also warned that the council might move to apprehend the vessel’s owner itself if the authorities failed to act. The council asked the Chief of Army Staff and the GOC of 6 Division in Port Harcourt to look into the conduct of personnel attached to Sector 3 Command, Okrika. Datolu urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other regulators to tighten oversight of crude oil evacuation and to settle disputes between contractors and host communities before they escalate. In his view, closer monitoring could have prevented the deaths.

Nicholas Igarama, the IYC’s Western Zone chairman, condemned what he called the Ibeto Group’s disregard for host communities and human life, and pledged the council’s support to the families. Lolo Braide, an IYC elder and former chairman of its Elders Council in the Kalabari Clan, called for adequate compensation. He also asked the state government, NNPCL and regulators to set up proper ways of resolving disputes between host communities and oil and gas operators. Anaye Kio, another Eastern Zone elder, said the council could consider further action if its demands went unmet.

Meanwhile, members of Kula Kingdom have seized the Anambra Basin and two tugboats, the Delta Runner and the Laura-V. Police have reportedly arrested both tugboat captains. Community leader Sara Igbe said the vessel won’t be allowed to leave. He added that the community, the military and the company are working towards a peace meeting, with the military facilitating talks on the orders of the GOC and the brigade commander. The IYC supports the seizure, and Datolu Sukubo suggested renaming the vessels in the victims’ honour.

The Ibeto Group has said that Max Shipping Services Limited was engaged by Menal Technical Services Limited under a contract to evacuate crude oil in the area. That account doesn’t answer the questions community leaders have raised about how the incident came about. The police investigation is expected to be central to establishing who is responsible for the seven deaths.