Herdsmen engage Delta Police team in gun battle

UGHELLI—AN unidentified policemen, Monday, sustained gunshot injuries during a gun battle between some herdsmen and a team of policemen from the Ughelli Area Command, Delta State. Also the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Delta Safe, yesterday, said its troops have killed two notorious militants in a shootout along the Obama Flow Station axis of Nembe Bayelsa East senatorial district of Bayelsa State. The incident, it was gathered, occurred at Bridge 4, along the Ohoror axis of the East-West Road in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state. Confirming the incident to Vanguard yesterday, a top official of the Ohoror community executive, who accompanied the police team, headed by the Ughelli Area Commander, Mr. Usman Ndanbabo, on the operation, disclosed that one of the herdsmen was apprehended while others, numbering over 20, fled into the bush. The source said: “When the Area Commander saw the herdsmen, he beckoned on them in his native tongue to come to him so that they can talk. But they refused. Before we knew what was happening, there were gunshots from both sides as the herdsmen fled in all directions. “At the end of the day, a policeman was shot, while one of the herdsmen, who fled into the river with his AK-47, was apprehended and immediately taken to the Police Command headquarters, Asaba, for investigation.” A senior officer at the Ughelli Area Command described the report as “baseless and unfounded,” while the state Police Public Relations Officer, Andrew Aniamaka, promised to get back to Vanguard with details, but had not done so at press time. Troops kill 2 militants in Bayelsa Yenagoa—The Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Delta Safe, yesterday, said its troops have killed two notorious militants in a shootout along the Obama Flow Station axis of Nembe Bayelsa East senatorial district of Bayelsa State. Troops of Sector 2, deployed in the area, reportedly raided the camp of the militants, following a tip-off by the locals and vigilante, which resulted in a shootout and death of the militants. According to a statement by the spokesman of the operation, Lt.-Col Olaolu Daudu, in Yenagoa: ”One of the suspects is a notorious leader of criminals, popularly known as Labista, who is on security agencies watch list and had at various times engaged in high profile kidnapping, killing of security personnel in ambushes, piracy, robbery and other criminal activities. “Labista and his cohort dived into the river in a bid to escape, while the raid was ongoing and were engaged by our troops. “At the end of the operation, the bodies of two notorious criminals were found floating on the waters. They were recovered and deposited at government morgue.” Items recovered, he said, included two single-barrelled guns, cutlass and four speed boats. The Commander of Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Apochi Ogabu Suleiman, according to the statement, assured the people of the region of their safety and security.