Four days after a deadly attack in the creeks of Bayelsa state that left four military personnel of the Joint Task Force (JTF) dead, the JTF has announced the recovery of the slained officers’ bodies by the Operation Pulo shield and the killing of the militant leader responsible for the attack.
The recovery of the body was revealed by a statement on Sunday signed by the JTF spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Antigha which disclosed that the attack was carried out by a gang of sea pirates led by Shedrack Itokofuwei, alias Mammy Water, who was also killed during the shoot-out.
Mammy Water is said to hail from Azagbene in Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa State.
The four military personnel were attacked on 1st March 2012, along Eweleso River in the state.
According to the JTF’s statement, “Mammy Water and his gang left his base in a convoy of about 5 speed boats heading to Forupa, a new location in Bayelsa State. However, enroute, the criminal convoy attacked JTF personnel who were heading to Ogbia from Brass. Thereafter, the same convoy encountered a Marine Police check point which they also attacked.”
The statement also explained that following the attacks, “military patrol teams within the vicinity were notified as the same convoy emerged at One Man Camp (a fishing settlement)” and “they were engaged by a Nigerian Navy Patrol boat” it added.
Lt. Col. Antigha further stated that “3 of their (militants) speed boats were sunk while 2 others escaped” adding that “the leader of the gang, Shedrack Itokofuwei, alias Mammy Water was among those killed in the fire fight as disclosed by his gang member captured close to the scene of encounter with the Navy Patrol boat.”
The JTF Commander also noted that the late “Mammy Water and his gang were the criminals behind the series of pirate attacks within Nigerian territorial waters in the last 3 months.” “This led to the JTF storming his residence in Azagbene in December and his subsequently being declared wanted.”
The JTF debunked the statement by the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger-delta which claimed responsibility of the attacks shortly it was reported. According to the JTF, “the attack on its personnel and other atrocities committed within the last three months has been staged by a few different and uncoordinated groups of itinerant criminals operating within the Niger Delta region.”
It dismisses what it called “the shameful attempt by the so-called MEND to seek relevance by creating a false impression that the attacks have been carried out by loyal groups of militants of which it is the coordinating authority.”
The security outfit warned that “fresh attempt by some misguided persons to orchestrate another round of violence and insecurity in the region will be an exercise in futility, because the JTF is prepared more than ever to crush any obstacle on the path to lasting peace and security in the Niger Delta region.”
It also assured Nigerians that recent occurrences are “simply organized criminal activities by people who believe that the only profitable way to engage with Government is through violence.” “Consequently, it should be noted that these criminal elements might occasionally score opportunistic and temporary victories, such as this most recent attack on personnel who were on purely administrative and logistic movement, but ultimately these agents of insecurity will lose.”
The JTF also warned the creek communities in the region on the consequences of providing sanctuary for criminal elements.