Nigerian Navy Storms Dayspring Island, Destroys Militant Hideouts in Cross River

The Nigerian Navy stormed Dayspring Island in Cross River State on Saturday, destroying a militant hideout linked to a long-wanted kingpin and setting up a forward base on the Calabar-Oron waterway.

Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho said the operation was carried out by Nigerian Navy Ship Victory and Forward Operating Base Ibaka. Troops targeted the enclave after a spike in kidnappings along the Calabar-Oron channel — the same stretch of water where the Navy imposed a 13-hour nightly curfew days earlier.

The offensive hit a hideout connected to a militant known as “Juju.” Advancing naval personnel, working alongside Nigerian Army 13 Brigade troops, pushed militants out of their camps and established a tactical base at Idung 1 (Peacock Crossing), giving security forces a position to monitor movement through the surrounding creeks.

The Calabar-Oron waterway has become increasingly dangerous for commuters and traders moving between Cross River and Akwa Ibom states. Criminal groups have exploited the network of creeks and islands to ambush passenger boats and hold victims for ransom — sometimes for weeks.

The Dayspring Island offensive is the latest in an escalating security response to waterways crime in the South-South, with the military making clear it intends to physically dismantle safe havens rather than just patrol the water.

Sources: Daily Post, ThisDay, Prompt News Online, 365 Daily