Suspected gunmen last
Saturday attacked a passenger boat along the Ogbia and Nembe waterways of Bayelsa State, killing two persons including an aide to the former Commissioner for Information in the state.
Also shot were a House of Assembly aspirant from Brass area of the state, Mr. Alfred Belemote, his police escort and a boat driver.
The deceased aide, Mr. Awotimigha Iyabi, married with four children said to be in his early 40s had served the former commissioner, Chief Nathan Egba, as personal assistant.
It was learnt that the gunmen, numbering about six and armed with sophisticated weapons, attacked the speed boat conveying the deceased and four others from Nembe.
An eyewitness, who craved anonymity, said the gunmen were operating along the waterways and dispossessing boat passengers of valuables adding that the boat conveying the deceased ran into the gunmen and was attacked by the suspects.
While some persons claimed the armed men were suspected pirates, others said the gunmen targeted the boat conveying the deceased and his friend, Alfred.
Confirming the incident, the former commissioner, Nathan Egba, who led journalists and friends on a condolence visit to the deceased’s wife, expressed shock at the attack and described the deceased as non-violent and gentle man.
Contacted on the development, spokesperson for the Bayelsa Police Command, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, said though details of the incident were sketchy, it was true that two persons were feared killed.
