Pirates kill policeman, four soldiers in Bayelsa

Suspected pirates on Friday night attacked a Joint Military Task Force base at Ogbolomabiri in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, killing four soldiers and a mobile policeman attached to JTF’s Operation Pulo Shield.

It was learnt that another mobile policeman was missing after the daring attack that occurred at about 12 midnight on Friday.

The invading pirates were said to have ransacked the base and carted away some rifles and ammunition of the taskforce, including gunboats.

A source, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, described the incident as horrific, saying the security operatives, who were caught unawares, were overwhelmed by the number and sophisticated weapons of the invaders.

The source said, “It was a shooting spree. Though the security operatives were caught unawares, there was little or nothing they could do because of the number of the pirates and the kind of arms they came with.

“It was obvious that they came for the arms and ammunition of the soldiers. They carted away all the arms, rifles and fled with military gunboats.”

The Coordinator, Joint Campaign Media Centre, Lt.-Col. Isa Ado, said the outfit had yet to determine the exact casualty figures.

Ado stated, “The casualty figures have yet to be confirmed. We are working on getting real details. The JTF is on the move to apprehend the hoodlums. We won’t relent in our efforts at fighting criminality in the region.”

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa Command, Mr. Asinim Butswat, indicated that details at the disposal of the Police suggested that four soldiers and a policeman were killed in the invasion.

Meanwhile, Nigerian military authorities have vowed to track down the attackers.

The Acting spokesman for Nigerian Military, Col. Rabe Abubakar, said in a statement on Saturday that the incident was being investigated.

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Abubabakar said the JTF in the Niger Delta had commenced moves to arrest the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

He said, “The military will deal decisively with anybody or group involved in this and similar acts of attacks or sabotage on the nation’s economy.

“The general public in the affected community are advised to go about their normal business. We solicit their cooperation to give timely information to the military or any other security agencies to avert future re-occurrence of this ugly incident.