By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa
The peace of the coastal town of Nembe, Bayelsa
State was violated, Friday night, when some
armed men, suspected to be sea pirates, attacked
a Joint Task Force JTF base, killing four soldiers
and a policeman.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that the attack on the
JTF facility occurred at about 11.30pm at the
Nembe waterway.
Though the motive for the attack could not be
immediately ascertained, a security source told
our correspondent that the hoodlums might have
embarked on the mission with a view to stealing
arms to perpetrate their nefarious activities on the
waterways.
The incident, the latest in the series of attacks in
the state’s troubled creeks, again brought to the
fore the dangers faced by travellers plying the
waterways.
Boat drivers and their passengers plying the
waterways have repeatedly come under attacks
with some losing their valuables and lives.
Sunday Vanguard learnt that the soldiers were
taken unawares by the gunmen who stormed the
base in four speedboats and opened fire from two
flanks (land and water).
The (hoodlums) took advantage of the dark night
to launch the vicious attack and stole rifles of the
slain operatives as well as two HP Guns and
other arms from the base before disappearing
into the mangrove creek.
“We were jolted from our sleep by the sound of
heavy gunshots and, when the sound died down,
we heard that some sea pirates attacked the JTF
base,” a source in the area said.
The JTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Isa Ado, confirmed
the attack but said it was unsuccessful as the
gunmen were repelled.
Ado, however, said he could not confirm the
number of casualty.
“Yes, I can confirm to you that there was an
attack by some unknown gunmen on our troops in
Nembe and the attack was repelled. You can
recall that there have been several attempts to
overrun our men in Nembe. Our men are on a hot
pursuit of the hoodlums as I speak with you,” he
added.
But the police authorities in Bayelsa confirmed the
incident which claimed the lives of four soldiers
and one policeman attached to the JTF.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.
Asinim Butswat, said the sea pirates carted away
two guns and other arms from the base.
Meanwhile, the attack pitted a pro-Governor
Seriake Dickson group against former Governor
Timipre Sylva.
While the Dickson group accused the opposition
All Progressives Congress (APC) of
masterminding the attack as part of an alleged
plot by the Sylva-led APC to create a sense of
insecurity in the state ahead of the December 5
governorship election, the former governor,
through his Media Adviser, Doifie Buokoribo, said
though the accusation was wild, unsubstantiated
and irresponsible, the escalation of violence in the
state should be put squarely at the doorstep of
the state administration.
The Dickson group, in a statement by its leader,
Seighfa Tonye-Brown, alleged that the Nembe
attack was among the plan by the opposition
party to unleash, between now and the election,
tension and insecurity in the state in order to
force the hand of President Muhammadu Buhari
to declare a state of emergency and possibly take
over the state.
Sylva, in his response, said the present governor
should be held responsible for the attack.
“That government has failed woefully in securing
lives and property, but instead has overtly and
covertly procured and traded in violence to
intimidate political opponents and any voice of
reason.”
Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/08/four-soldiers-one-policeman-shot-dead/

Eeya rip to them

Rip

no bashin pls so them do die be that