More deaths have been recorded in the restive Niger Delta as militants on Saturday night attacked the Logistics Base of the Joint Task Force in Bomadi, Delta State and a drinking spot in Onne, Rivers State.
Apart from killing five people in the two incidents, the militants abducted two French nationals and seized two JTF gunboats as well as sophisticated weapons.
Investigation by our correspondents on Sunday showed that the militants stormed the JTF base from a neighboring coastal community.
The base was established by the pioneer Commander of JTF, Brig.-Gen. Elias Zamani, in 2003 to coordinate the operations of the security outfit in Bomadi, Patani, Burutu and neighboring riverine communities in Bayelsa State.
Our correspondents learnt that JTF operatives made futile attempts to ward-off the militants whose mission was to seize arms and ammunition to fortify their armories.
A source told our correspondents that many residents of Bomadi were forced into the bush during the more than one hour gun duel between the operatives and the militants.
�During the gun battle, a woman and two people were killed by stray bullets. Some members of the JTF were also injured,� the source said.
Another source claimed that the militants abandoned the seized gunboats at Okwagbe Waterside, Burutu Local Government Area, after taking weapons in them.
According to the source, the bandits abandoned the boats because of lack of competent hands to pilot them to their camps.
The boats were expected to be escorted back to Bomadi by an air force helicopter on Sunday.
Report from Bomadi showed that the road leading in and out of the Ijaw community had been sealed off by the JTF operatives.
Before 10 truckloads of troops and gunboats departed the 93 Batttalion, Effurun for Bomadi on Sunday, the JTF Commander, Brig.-Gen. Wuyep Rimtip, held a crucial meeting with top officials of the Force to review the development.
Six gunboats were also deployed in a militant camp in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State where a reliable JTF source quoted Rimtip as claiming that he was in possession of intelligence report linking the attack on the base to the camp.
The Co-ordinator of the newly-created Joint Media Campaign Centre in the JTF, Lt. Col. Rabe Abubakar, confirmed the Bomadi incident.
He said, �Yesterday (Saturday) night, there was an encounter between our troops and militants at our duty location at Bomadi and no single casualty on our troops.
�The Commander of the JTF condemned this development and warned those behind it to stop or we will be left with no option than to pay back, which will be catastrophic.�
In Rivers State, one of our correspondents gathered that the abducted French men were crew members of Bourbon Absara, a vessel working for Adax Oil Nigeria Limited.
They were said to be in a drinking spot popularly referred to as �Bush Bar� when the gunmen arrived and started shooting inside.
A source said that one of the Nigerians in the bar tried to escape but was gunned down.
He said, �Just after the man was killed, a phone held by one of the ladies inside the place rang and the gunmen opened fire and she fell down and died.
�They took the two expatriates to a waiting bus outside the bar and drove to the waterside. They escaped with a speedboat after setting the bus ablaze.�
When contacted on the telephone, the Spokesman for the JTF, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, confirmed the attack.
However, he did not confirm the killing of the two Nigerians but said that the command was awaiting details of what happened at the bar.
He said, �We have received report on the attack on a joint in Onne where two expatriates are said to have been abducted by hoodlums.
�The hoodlums went to the area in the night through the waterfront and also escaped through the waterfront. We are yet to know the identities of the hostages.�
Source: The Punch