A police sergeant, identified as Mathew Simon attached to Bayelsa State security outfit, popularly known as ‘Operation Doo Akpo’, and two gunmen suspected to be militants, have been killed in a gun duel.
The gun battle ensued after the deceased militants reportedly launched an attack on a patrol van belonging to the security officers in Opiama, Nembe Local government area of the state.
According to a source, the suspected militants escaped with the dead bodies of their two colleagues who died during the encounter.
The patrol van as said to be for the construction of the Nembe road.
Speculations by a security source had it that the assailants must have come to abduct some the road construction workers just like they did in the past year.
In another development, some armed bandits had abducted and disappeared with four staff members of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company who were travelling on a speedboat from Amassomma to Ogoimbiri, in the Southern Ijaw area.
The two incidents reportedly took place on Monday, February 2, 2015 in Nembe and Southern Ijaw local government areas of Bayelsa.
“This time around, they were not successful as the policemen engaged them in a gun duel. One of the policemen died. The police also claimed that they killed two of the militants,”said the anonymous source.
He added, “Their speedboat was double-crossed by gun-wielding men who shot sporadically into the air to frighten them. The gunmen took them into their boat and zoomed off. Our river is a death trap.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, Mr. Asinim Butswat, said he was yet to get the full information regarding the incidents.
