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BAYELSA: 3 killed, 1 missing as suspected militants attack oil vessel in repeat incident

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Suspected militants have reportedly attacked a tugboat laden with crude oil, killing three crew members in the same area where about three weeks ago an ambush on a military houseboat led to the killing of two persons in Southern Ijaw creeks in Bayelsa State.

The attacked vessel conveyed a combined team of security escort and civilians. The suspected sea pirates had carried out the attack on Friday at Ekebiri Waterways in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

Two of the victims were security personnel, while a civilian crew member in the tugboat towing the vessel was also killed.

Recall that gunmen suspected to be Niger Delta militants had on August 28, 2017 ambushed a houseboat operated by the Joint Task Force (JTF) and killed a soldier and a civilian crew member.

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Asinim Butswat, Police Public Relations Officer for Bayelsa Command, confirmed the incident. He said that one police officer was still missing as his body was yet to be recovered after the attack.

Butswat said that a response team which was dispatched to the crime scene rescued eight occupants of the boat while efforts were still underway to arrest the suspected pirates.

“On 22, September 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 on board was attacked by Suspected Sea Pirates. The incident took place at Ekebiri Waterways in Southern Ijaw LGA, Bayelsa.

“A reinforced team arrived shortly and rescued one Policeman, three NSCDC personnel and four civilians. However, a policeman, one NSCDC Personnel and a civilian were shot dead by the sea pirates. One Policeman is still missing”, Butswat said.

The police spokesperson revealed that the remains of the victims had been deposited at the Federal Medical Centre Mortuary for autopsy.

 

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