THE Joint
Task Force in the Niger Delta codenamed Operation Delta Safe has broken its
silence on the Monday night attack on its operatives by suspected militants
near
Letugbene community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State
saying it lost a soldier and a civilian staff attached to a military houseboat.
Coordinator,
Joint Media Campaign Centre of the taskforce, Major Ibrahim Abdulahi who
disclosed this in a statement issued Friday in Yenagoa also dismissed as untrue
claims of reprisal attacks by troops on innocent indigenes of Letugbene and
surrounding communities.
The statement reads “This is to put to rest
exaggerated speculations on an incident involving our own troops and suspected
militants on Monday 28th August, 2017 around 2000hrs (8 pm) near Letugbene
community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
During the
firefight, one gallant soldier and a civilian staff attached to the military
houseboat paid the supreme price for defending fatherland as against reports of
four (4) soldiers killed. A rescue team supported by gunboats was immediately
dispatched to the area and they were able to locate and support two other
soldiers who engaged the militants.
“The current operations in the creeks and
rivulets around the general area are surgical operations designed to fish out
the perpetrators of that dastardly act some of whom fled into neighbouring
communities. The job of the JTF remains to keep the peace on the waterways,
creeks and the Niger Delta in general. Operation Delta Safe and indeed the
Nigerian Military does not carry out reprisal attacks on innocent citizens as
alleged in some quarters. “Members of the public especially those resident in
areas where operations are being conducted are hereby advised to go about their
normal lawful duties at this time of Sallah break and celebration.”
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