Following the killing of three soldiers in Nembe on Monday, the Joint Military Force deployed to the Niger Delta has vowed to arrest militants who perpetrated the act.

This was contained in a statement by Lt.-Cdr. Abdulrashid Ahmed, Acting spokesman of Operation Delta Safe, in Yenagoa on Tuesday.

“Some suspected gunmen believed to be militants at about 10 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2016 attacked 343 Artillery Regiment, a detachment of Operation DELTA SAFE deployed at Nembe Jetty in Bayelsa State. During the incidence, three soldiers lost their lives.”

“The Commander of Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie, has consequently deployed reinforcement team to apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime,” he said.

Ahmed, however, assured the Nembe community that its operation in the area was to ensure conducive and safe waterways for legitimate businesses in the Niger Delta region.

Meanwhile residents in Nembe are leaving the area for fear of a reprisal attack by the military.

Mary Benjamin, who hails from Nembe, described that attack in which the militants carted away a military gunboat and a cache of arms and ammunition as worrisome.

She recalled that militants had attacked the military post in November 2015 and killed four soldiers.

“The killing of the soldiers has triggered panic in Nembe area; our people have started moving out in fear of military reprisal.

“We can no longer stay in the area because shootings are ongoing here and there,” Benjamin said.

Azeez