by ‘Jola Sotubo

The activities of militants in the Niger Delta seem to be picking up pace as armed gunmen are said to have attacked 2 passenger boats in Bayelsa.

The militants were said to have invaded the boats in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state and taken away N1 million.

The assailants were also said to have abducted all the passengers on board the boats in the incident which occurred on Friday.

Leadership reports:

This was contained in a statement on Friday evening by the spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, Mustapha Anka, a Lieutenant Colonel.

It stated that the victims included a technical staff of a communications giant, who was deployed on assignment to carry out repairs on a faulty communications mast located in a Southern Ijaw community.

The statement said the N1million belonged to the company’s technician.

It further disclosed that the same gang of armed militants from Ekeni community also invaded Zion community in the same Southern Ijaw, shooting sporadically into the air on Friday.

It stated that the hoodlums harassed, extorted money and dispossessed victims of their belongings and consumables before escaping into the creeks.

It added, however, that troops of the JTF were combing the creeks to fish out the criminals.

The statement reads in part: “In another development, armed militants from Ekene community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa State was reported to have invaded Zion community of the same LGA where they fired sporadically into the air.