Militants kill four soldiers, one civilian in Bayelsa ambush

Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

Unknown gunmen, suspected to be militants, have reportedly killed four 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 that a team of soldiers returning from Letugbene community on Monday became victims of an ambush laid by armed youths believed to be militants.

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.

While one of the civilians, a boat driver, allegedly escaped, the only survivor of the attack 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, Mr. 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.

He said residents in the area accused the military of burning down houses and destroying properties 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 incidence 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.

Efforts to get responses from the Commander, Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Suleiman Apochi, were unsuccessful as his mobile phone indicated it was not reachable.

Also, a text message to his phone was not responded to as of the time of filing this report.