Gunmen attack Bayelsa CP’s convoy

The Bayelsa State Police Commissioner, Mr Tonye Ebitibituwa, on Tuesday, escaped being killed on the Oporoma/Oyoma waterways and creeks in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state, as his convoy was attacked by gunmen.
The attack, which occurred at about 7.30 a.m, led to unspecified number of killings, with police claiming that some pirates were killed.
The statement from the office of the state Police Public Relations Officer, Alex Akhigbe, did not disclose if the police command recorded any casualties.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the armed men, numbering about 10 and suspected to be members of a notorious gang, were reportedly killed in the gun duel and their boats sunk.
It was also gathered that Ebitibituwa was on a week-long familiarisation tour of divisions and formations within the command.
Security sources informed Nigerian Tribune that the attack was launched on his way to divisions in Southern Ijaw Area.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the spokesperson of the police, Akhigbe, said “gunboats deployed to beef-up security in Twon Brass, Akassa, Okpoama and Southern Ijaw Area of the state in particular were attacked between Oporoma/Oyoma waterways on Tuesday, by a boat with about 10 armed men believed to be notorious sea pirates, who have been terrorising our waterways.
“In the ensuing gun battle, some of the pirates feared dead, others jumped into the water, while their boats were sunk. What would have turned out to be calamity was averted due to the alertness of the patrol team and preparedness of the state police command to deal with acts of criminality, sea piracy, robbery and other crimes in the state.”
Meanwhile, the police, on Thursday, paraded 14 persons over alleged involvement in cases of stealing, conspiracy, stealing, vandalism of underground cables and unlawful possession of master keys.
Among those paraded by the command was a 42-year-old graduate of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Mr Titilayo Adewale Tosin, over his alleged impersonation as a university registrar involved in giving admission into South African universities.
According to the police, he was arrested after he offered a fake provisional admission letter to one Miss Eniye Maclean Ebule for a degree course in a South African university, Monasha University.
TRIBUNE