by Isi Esene

The Nigerian Navy has today confirmed that pirates off the coast of the Niger Delta have killed two Nigerian navy sailors and kidnapped four foreigners. It was gathered that two navy sailors were also injured in the supposed militant attack.

The confirmation of the attack was made by the Nigerian Navy spokesman, Commodore Kabir Aliyu. “The navy sent an helicopter and another ship into the area to help the attacked ships and search for the people who carried out the attack,” he said.

According to the BBC News, concerted efforts are on to ascertain the whereabouts of the kidnapped foreigners.

The kidnapped foreigners who are from Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia were abducted on the vessel owned by Sea Trucks Group based in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The spokeswoman for the Sea Trucks Group, Corrie van Kessel, told reporters on Saturday that the two wounded sailors were receiving treatment at a hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“Sea Trucks are making every effort to ascertain the whereabouts of the kidnapped personnel,” Van Kessel said.

Navy officers who spoke to the press said the attack happened early this morning 35 Nautical miles off the coast of the Niger Delta.

Although there have been a decrease in the spate of attacks in the Niger Delta area since the implementation of the Federal Government’s Amnesty Programme, there has recently been a resurgence of violence over apparently over dissatisfaction in the mode of implementation of the said programme.