Pirates Kill Three Soliders …As JTF Destroys 840 Illegal Refineries

Traditional Rulers at a summit on Traditional Justice System Reform in Dutse,Jigawa State , recently

Three soldiers in a gun boat belonging to Military Joint Taskforce tagged “Operation Puolo Shield were in the early hours of Monday attacked suspected Pirates.
The incident occurred at Santa Barbara Rivers in Nembe axis of Bayelsa State when they were escorting equipment belonging to Agip Oil Company to Brass.
According to source, the soldiers were ambushed by the pirates and to repel the attacks were not successful as they were over powered.
The bodies of the soldiers were thrown into the river, while the attackers made away with the gun boat belonging to the soldiers.
The Media Co-ordinator of JTF, Lt. Col, Mustapha Ankra who continued the incident did not however say anything about the casualty but simply said “we are still search for our men presumed to have been missing”.
This the second time, pirates have attacked military gun boat in less than three months.
In October, this year, a gun boat escorting Agip equipment from Port Harcourt to Brass was also attacked at the same St. Banabas River in Nembe. The boat is yet to be recovered.
Meanwhile, the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, said it impounded 53 vessels, 200 barges and destroyed 840 illegal refineries in its fight against oil theft from March till date.
Col. Mustapha Anka, Media Coordinator of the task force, told newsmen yesterday in Yenagoa that efforts of the JTF had significantly reduced the menace of oil theft in the region.
The task force is under the command of Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Atewe, who took over in March.
Anka said that JTF officers rebuffed a bribe offer of 65,000 dollars (more than N960,000) and arrested the culprits. He said that the troops destroyed four militant camps, freed and rescued more than 10 victims from the kidnappers’ den.
According to him, the task force equally embarks on advocacy campaigns to enlist the support of oil communities in the fight against oil theft.
“The command also embarked on confidence building patrols to dissuade the youth and community from involving in illegal oil bunkering and other criminality in the region. “As part of corporate social responsibility, the task force secured a free medical mission for Akenpai and Igomatoru communities of Southern Ijaw in Bayelsa.
“It also provided a borehole in each of the two communities to ensure potable water for the people,” Anka said.
On operational equipment, Anka announced that the Defence Headquarters had ordered 30 additional gunboats for the task force.