Pirates Kidnap 6 Policemen, steal Gunboat in Bayelsa.

By Segun James in Yenagoa.

Dare-devil pirates operating along the creeks and waterways of the Niger delta over the weekend kidnapped 12 persons including six policemen in separate operations in Embe area of Bayelsa.

The pirates, in one of the operations,  also made away with a gunboat belonging to the police.

Not surprisingly, the attack on the police occurred in broad daylight, at about 1.30pm last Friday.

The gunboat was said to be escorting a barge owned by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) when it came under attack.

It was gathered that the hoodlums, who operated on a speedboat, laid ambush for the gunboat and opened fire on the policemen.

They were said to have overpowered the policemen and later took control of the gunboat along Santa Barbara and Nembe waterways, causing panic among travellers.

All efforts to confirm the incident from the police proved abortive as the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, said he was in Abuja for a programme.

Also, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Valentine Ntomchukwu, sent a message claiming to be in a meeting.