Trouble in Niger Delta: NSCDC kill three militants following deadly gun battle

 – NSCDC operatives in Bayelsa have killed three militants

– A shootout which took place on Saturday, May 14, led to the deaths

– The gun battle took place along snake creek in the Nembe area of the state

– Some NSCDC operatives sustained injures from the face-off.

Three Niger Delta militants have been reportedly killed by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Bayelsa state.

The deaths occurred during a gun battle which took place on Saturday, May 14.

Two operatives of the corps sustained gunshot wounds at the clash which took place along Snake Creeks in the Nembe area of the state. Many of the suspected hoodlums, who reportedly attacked the armed civil defenders, were said to have fled with gunshot injuries.

Security personnel have recently become the targets of militants and sea pirates in the region, leading to the death of no fewer than 10 security agents in the last one month.

Confirming the latest attack, the Commandant, NSCDC, Bayelsa State Command, Mr Desmond Agu, noted that his men were on patrol when they came under fire from the suspected militants.

READ ALSO: Stop hiding and face the Nigerian army – Ex-militants dare Niger Delta Avengers

Agu stated: “The NSCDC personnel, while on patrol along the Snake Creek within Nembe Creeks, came under heavy attack from the criminals operating along that area. After the ensuing gunbattle, three of the assailants were killed while the rest escaped with gunshot injuries.

‘’Two NSCDC personnel sustained minor gunshot injuries but have been treated and discharged from the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.”

On the security threats posed by the recent upsurge in militancy and fears that oil production in the region might end if the attacks continued, Agu stated that the NSCDC and other security agencies were working assiduously to ensure that the threats were minimised.

He added: “The militants cannot take over the creeks because that’s not possible. The nation belongs to all of us. We are talking about protecting Nigeria’s critical assets. We will make sure that in collaboration with the other agencies, the pipelines and other assets are protected.

‘’We are ensuring that this thing is minimised so that Nigeria will enjoy peace. Nigeria depends largely on oil. On the destruction of pipelines, we are at red alert.”

He said the corps recently arrested one Tama Emmanuel and two others along Azuzuama for masterminding the destruction of an Agip flowline at Ogbounbiri-Tebidaba.

According to the Commandant, a coordinated massive operation at an illegal bunkering point at Otuegwe 2, Ogbia Forest, also led to the destruction of the site and arrest of 15 vandals.

“Those that are determined to make sure we do not sleep, let them look for something else to do. Nothing is in the pipelines except destruction and pollution. Right now, there’s no fish and no farm. They blow pipelines and blame everybody else,” he said.

Agu said the NSCDC would not be deterred by the activities of the militants “because Nigeria is bigger than few individuals.”

He added: “The police, soldiers and Navy  are working together. Their attacks will not intimidate us. As a small child, it was illegal to possess arms, even dane guns, now you have sophisticated weapons everywhere.’’

He commended the Federal Government for supporting the corps, but added that “like Oliver Twist, it’s never enough.’’

Agu also listed the arrest of one ‘General’ Yere, wanted for vandalising oil facilities in Pirigbene, Southern Ijaw; the destruction of over 400 illegal refineries and repelling of several kidnap attempts by kidnappers and sea pirates attempting to invade communities in Sagbama as some of the successes the security agency had recorded recently.

The Nigerian army has arrested five suspected members of the Niger Delta Avengers following the bombing of Chevron pipeline in Warri South-West local government area of Delta state.

Army sources told Vanguard that the suspected persons were transported to the military facility just as fierce-looking soldiers raided Oporoza, the traditional headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom in search of militants bombing pipelines in the state.

The invasion was the second time soldiers were storming Oporoza in five days. President Muhammadu Buhari has directed a crackdown on the militants which claimed responsibility for attacks on oil installations and pipelines.

The post Trouble in Niger Delta: NSCDC kill three militants following deadly gun battle appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM (Nigerian newspapers).