Two Persons Allegedly Killed By Pirates In Bayelsa State

At least two people have been allegedly killed by gunmen
suspected to be sea pirates inside a boat on the Ogbia-
Nembe waterways in Bayelsa state.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN , one of the
victims was of the attack, Awotimigha Iyabi, was an aide to
a former commissioner in Bayelsa, while the second victim
was yet to be identified.
Iyabi was a personal assistant to Chief Nathan Egba, a
former Commissioner for Information.
It was gathered that three persons, Alfred Belemote, a
politician and his police escort, and the boat driver survived
the attack.
* Arrested pirates paraded by the Nigerian Navy in Lagos
recently
According one of the surviving passengers of the boat, the
boat ran into a robbery operation and was trapped in
gunshots from the gunmen.
Whiling confirming the attack, Egba informed that he had
led friends of the deceased on a condolence visit to the
family of his former aide and expressed shock at the attack.
He also described the deceased as a "non-violent and
gentleman".
The spokesman of the Bayelsa Police Command, Alex
Akhigbe, also confirmed the incident, adding that details of
the incident were not immediately available.
"It is true that two persons died in the attack," Akhigbe
said.
According to survivors of the pirate attack, six gunmen
attacked the speedboat conveying the deceased and four
others from Nembe area of Bayelsa. They added that the
gunmen were operating along the waterway, dispossessing
boat passengers of cash and valuables.
"Our boat ran into the robbery operation and we were
trapped by gunshots from the gunmen," said one survivor.
One survivor claimed that the pirates must have laid
ambush for the ex-political aide. "I heard the pirates shout,
'He is not here, he is in the second boat,'" he said, adding
that it indicated an assassination motive.
Our sources said the gunmen had stopped one of the two
speedboats in the convoy of the politician, adding that the
firepower from the policeman on the boat was not able to
deter the six pirates' operation.
Nathan Egba, Bayelsa's former Commissioner for
Information and Orientation, confirmed the tragic incident.
Mr. Egba, who led friends of the deceased on a condolence
visit to the family of his former aide, expressed shock at the
attack and described the deceased as a "non-violent and
gentle man."
Alex Akhigbe, a spokesman of the Bayelsa police
command, said that the police had been notified about the
attack, but added that details of the pirate attack were not
yet ready.
Pirates attacks are not new in Bayelsa State as many
people are recorded annually to have been killed as a
result of attacks perpetrated by pirates.

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