Three security personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigerian Police were at the weekend ambushed and killed by suspected sea pirates along the Okoron Creek in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The Bayelsa State Commandant of the NSCDC, Desmond Agu, confirmed the incident and claimed that two policemen and one NSCDC personnel were killed in the attack.
But Senior Police source, who faulted the claim by the NSCDC command, said that the murdered security personnel were on routine anti-pipeline vandal patrol before the attack He said the attack occurred when the security personnel were on escort duty unknown to the Bayelsa Police command.
But local sources from Azuzuama and other neighbouring communities, close to the scene of the incident, claimed that those killed were NSCDC personnel.
The suspected pirates were said have, at about 7pm on Friday, ambushed the security personnel around the Okoron Community enroute the Tebidaba flow station operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).
It was learnt that though the security personnel put up a good fight during fire fight, however, the superior weapons of the gunmen claimed the lives of the three security operatives while three others sustained gunshot wounds.
According to the source: “The news got to us at about 9pm when we dispatched our security surveillance team to the area, we saw a military gun boat had arrived with some NSCDC personnel that has survived the attack. “They seem to have recovered the corpses of the killed security personnel without their rifles.
It’s like the unknown gunmen must have gone away with their guns.” One of the security operatives that survived confirmed that the escort duty team were on their way from Koluama community before they came under attack. However, our source blamed the security personnel for not going with a gunboat when they were on duty along the creeks.
