Ogona Anita
An officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was killed on Friday following an ambush by suspected militants in Igbomotoru, a riverine community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Sources within the community told Daily Trust that the NSCDC patrol team had just concluded an operation targeting illegal bunkering sites in the area when they came under heavy gunfire.
The attack reportedly occurred near the Koluama creeks, a notorious location for oil theft and militant operations.
According to the sources, the assault appeared well-coordinated, with the attackers using high-caliber weapons to engage the officers on their patrol boat.
The yet-to-be-identified NSCDC officer was shot during the exchange and later succumbed to his injuries.
Other officers sustained varying degrees of injuries and are currently receiving treatment at a medical facility in Yenagoa.
The incident is suspected to be the handiwork of pipeline vandalism syndicates operating in the area, which has witnessed heightened unrest in recent months due to increased bunkering activity.
This comes barely a week after another destructive incident in the same local government area, where suspected vandals blew up a 24-inch gas pipeline owned by Oando Plc between Angiama and Angiamagbene communities.
The pipeline supplies gas to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant in Bonny, Rivers State.
Military operations had been carried out in the region in the past, including a major raid last year targeting a militant leader allegedly involved in the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama, Delta State.
Responding to inquiries on Sunday, NSCDC spokesman for the Bayelsa State Command, Mr. Solomon Ogbere, confirmed awareness of the incident but said full details were still being awaited.
He stated: “The information, sincerely speaking, we’ve gotten it but I’m still waiting for the OC to give me a comprehensive report, but you are not actually far from the truth anyway, but I can’t actually speak on it because I have not gotten the exact details but by tomorrow (Monday), I will be speaking on good authority by telling you that this is what actually transpired and this is casualty rate and this is what happened.”
“But something of such took place but I’ve not gotten the comprehensive report on it yet.”
