The Commander, NNS Jubilee, Akwa Ibom, Commodore Isaac Ogbole, on Tuesday said the joint patrol teams of Nigerian Navy – NNS Jubilee and NNS Victory, Calabar- killed six pirates and injured one .
Mr. Ogbole said this in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom while briefing newsmen on the activities of the command.
He said that local fishermen in Ibaka, Mbo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom, briefed the naval officers about the operations of the pirates in the area.
The commander said the pirates, who were operating in two boats, pretended as if the boats were passenger boats. He said the naval boats had encircled the pirate boats to check if actually the boats were passenger boats.
Mr. Ogbole said that when the officers got to the location as briefed by the fishermen, the pirates were taken by surprise as their efforts to engage the men of the Nigerian Navy in gun battle ended in their waterloo.
He said that, as the naval officers tried to examine the boats, the pirates quickly brought out arms to shoot at the patrol teams.
“Today, our men – NNS Jubilee, Akwa Ibom and NNS Victory, Calabar, Cross River, killed six pirates and seriously injured one.
“The naval officers behaved as if they did not have any information about them. They decided to go past them by encircling them.
“But the pirates, who pretended as if their boats were passenger boats, suddenly brought out arms to engage the naval operatives. It was at that instance that the operatives were convinced that the people were pirates and not what they pretended to be,” he said.
Mr. Ogbole revealed that the NNS Jubilee had, in the last three months, raided illegal bunker hideouts to seize drums of locally-refined fuel running into millions of Naira.
(NAN)
