2 soldiers shot dead, one missing in sea-pirate attack …We’ll get them- JTF From Femi Folaranmi, YenagoaTwo soldiers attached to the Joint Task Force (JTF) Operation Pulo Shield were yesterday, shot dead during a sea-pirate attack along the coastal border between Rivers and Bayelsa states. One of the three soldiers on escort mission with a three-man Z-Cube Construction Company, has also been confirmed missing, while the boat driver and officials of the company were wounded. According to intelligence sources, the attack took place at Ikuru community in Adoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. The soldiers were escorting the Z- Cube team to the site of a project awarded to it by the Niger Delta Development Commission when they were attacked. The media coordinator of the JTF, Lt. Col Onyeama Nwachukwu, who confirmed the death of the two soldiers, said investigations revealed that the deceased fought gallantly to repel the attack and defend the lives of the civilians in the boat. According to Nwachukwu, the attack was an ambush and the soldiers were prepared and fought to ensure there was no civilian casualty. He stated that the Z- Cube Construction Company team and the boat operator sustained minor gunshot wounds and were recuperating in a hospital. He assured that a manhunt has commenced for the pirates. “At about 1pm on Tuesday, October 22, 2013,three of our soldiers fell into an ambush of sea robbers while on escort duty of three civilian staff of Z-Cube Construction Company, moving from end of New Road to Ikuru Town in Adoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. “The company staff were on their way to NDDC road construction site in the area. Our troops fought gallantly to repel the attack and successfully defended the lives of the civilians they were escorting even at the expense of their own lives. They stood by the creed of their profession by paying the supreme sacrifice to ensure the safety of the civilian staff. “We are on the trail of the perpetrators who must be brought to justice. We are also urging the inhabitants of the area to report any suspicious movement of persons in the community to law enforcement agencies,” Nwachukwu stated. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Navy has intensified patrol in its efforts to arrest the crew members of a pirate ship that ran aground in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Sidi Usman, who disclosed this at the Forward Operation Base (FOB) FORMOSO, said the naval patrol team had sighted the suspected sea-pirates and wanted to arrest them before they escaped.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 13:27:25 +0000
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