Gunmen have killed a policeman, an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and a civilian in Bayelsa State.
The assailants, suspected to be sea pirates, were said to have attacked an oil vessel conveying a team of security officials and civilians on Friday in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The attack was confirmed in a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Asinim Butswat.
“On September 22, 2017, at about 1845hrs, a Tugboat, towing a Barge with a combined team of policemen from the Nigerian Inland waterways, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp, and civilians onboard were attacked by suspected sea pirates at Ekebiri Waterways in Southern Ijaw LGA, Bayelsa,” Butswat said.
He said that a reinforced team arrived shortly and rescued a policeman, three NSCDC personnel and four civilians while another personnel of the Police Command is missing.
“A policeman, one NSCDC personnel and a civilian were shot dead by the sea pirates (while) one policeman is still missing,” he added.
The Command’s spokesman said the corpses have been deposited at the mortuary of the Federal Medical Centre for autopsy while a search party has been deployed to recover the missing policeman.
He said all security operatives in Southern Ijaw LGA have been alerted and efforts were ongoing to arrest the culprits.
