Militants Kill 4 Soldiers, One Civilian In Bayelsa

Just when you Nigerians begin to get used to calmness in the creeks in Niger Delta region, suspected militants strike again.

Four soldiers have been killed by suspected militants in Bayelsa.

Gunmen, suspected to be militants, have reportedly killed 4 soldiers and a civilian in Bayelsa State.

The suspects were said to have laid an ambush for the soldiers along the waterways of Letugbene, Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.

Some security sources confirmed the attack, saying that the dead were part of a team of soldiers returning from Letugbene community on Monday.

They said youths believed to be militants carried out the attack.

It was learnt that the militants allegedly overpowered the soldiers, seized their arms, moved them to a location in the creeks and shot them dead.

The boat captain was said to have jumped into the river before he was shot by the criminals.

An Ijaw youth leader and Chairman of the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Central Zone, Tare Porri, who confirmed the development, condemned the killing of the soldiers.

He described the attack as “bizarre and unprovoked”. Porri said they were killed in cold blood, adding that his zonal leadership would meet to discuss the issue and other problems affecting the zone.

According to him, residents in the area have accused the military of burning down houses and destroying property in the operation launched to fish out the killers of the soldiers.

A security commander, who confirmed the murder of the soldiers, lamented the rising incidents of killing of security agents, saying measures must be adopted to stop the ugly trend.

A police source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said only soldiers were killed in the attack, noting that the civilian attached to the soldiers escaped.