Pirates Kill 2 Soldiers,Others In Bayelsa

Four persons, including two soldiers, a retired naval officer and the pilot of an ocean going tugboat were yesterday killed during a gun battle between men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and pirates in Bayelsa State.

The pirates were said to have ambushed the barge they were escorting along the River Forcados at Angiama community in the state.

The spokesman for the JTF in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, confirmed the incident Tuesday.

It was gathered that in the ensuing battle, two other soldiers sustained serious injuries, while three of the pirates also sustained seriously injured even as they were dragged away by their colleagues when they made good escape. One of the boat personnel was declared missing.

The military could not give immediate reasons for the attack as the tugboat and the barge which they were escorting were said to be empty at the time of the attack.
The boat was said to belong to an oil service company, Sterling Global Oil Services Limited and had set sail from Warri and headed for Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital when it was attacked.

The military men were said to have run into an ambush mounted by suspected sea pirates along the Angiama-Etelibiri waterways of Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Following the attack, the JTF yesterday deployed five gunboats in a desperate move to apprehend the killers even as security alert was heightened in Yenagoa, the state capital.

Said Nwachukwu: "I can confirm that some of our troops on board a Sterling Global Oil Resources Limited tugboat ran into an ambush along the Angiama-Etelibiri waterways of Sagbama Local Government Area of the state today; there was a shoot-out between the unknown gunmen and our troops. Two of our men lost their lives and two other civilians were injured."

Nwachukwu  also confirmed the fatal injuries to three of the unidentified gunmen and the deployment of troops to the area and were on the trail of the unidentified gunmen.
Meanwhile, the family of the leader of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Peter Akpe, was yesterday thrown into confusion, following a suspected crack in the camp of the kidnappers of his mother.

The two camps have severally being negotiating with the lawmaker and were demanding different sums as ransom for the release of the 58-year-old woman, Mrs. Esther Akpe.

The concern of the family members heightened following the demand of N6 million and N8 million by the two kidnap groups respectively.
This was coming a few days after the initial demand of N80 millions by the kidnappers.

According to a source, "as at Monday evening, we became concerned over her safety as two different phone calls were received over ransom demand. One set of the kidnappers called and demanded for N6 million, while another called later to demand for N8 million.

"We don't know what happened to Mama’s phone number. We cannot determine who the genuine kidnappers are, but we are hoping and praying for her release."
Akpe was kidnapped last Tuesday night between 9 and 10p.m. by five armed gunmen from her country home in Ebedebiri in Sagbama Local