Posted by By FEMI FOLARANMI, Yenagoa on
Unidentified gunmen suspected to be militants, on Sunday morning, attacked a Mobile Police camp in Okiki, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and killed two policemen, carting away their rifles.
Unidentified gunmen suspected to be militants, on Sunday morning, attacked a Mobile Police camp in Okiki, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and killed two policemen, carting away their rifles.
The attacked mobile policemen were said to belong to the anti-bunkering unit of the Bayelsa State Police Command.
The news of the death of the policemen has already thrown the entire Bayelsa State Police Command into mourning, while the top hierarchy of the command met in Yenagoa to appraise the situation.
The gunmen, suspected to be those involved in bunkering, were said to have engaged the policemen in a gun duel so as to continue to carry out their illegal activities.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) said the Commissioner of Police was expected to brief the press about the incident.
The Commandant of the Joint Military Task Force, Lt. Col. Chris Musa, confirmed the incident and said he is waiting for police briefing before his men could swing into action.
The Niger Delta Peace and Conflict Reconciliation Committee, in a statement, condemned the attack, describing it as act perpetrated by unknown gunmen. The Chairman of the Committee, Chief James Jephthah, while also confirming the incident, however, ruled out the possibility that the act was carried out by militants.
According to him, the militants in the state are currently engaged in helping the government identify and report cases of sea-piracy and pipeline vandals.
Jephthah explained that though his committee had not been able to identify the perpetrators but insisted that no militant group in Bayelsa State would want to carry out such attacks against any government security agency, considering the existing working relationship they have with the state government.
He said criminals could easily take advantage of the prevailing peace in the state to commit crimes that could be linked to militancy, stressing that sea-pirates, armed robbers and pipeline vandals are equally capable of attacking government security agents."