Four Policemen, one of who was an Assistant Superintendent of Police, were killed with gun shots by 24 armed men suspected to be sea pirates.
The policemen were said to be patrolling on the Abonema Wharf in Port Harcourt when the sea pirates, who wore masks on their faces suddenly emerged and opened fire on them.
One of the five occupants of the patrol boat who had survived, reportedly jumped into the sea and swam to shore unharmed.
It was learnt that the unsuspecting marine patrol team were ambushed on their way to prevent criminal activities in the wharf and its environs.
The 24 sea pirates came in the company of four boats, each boat conveying six armed men.
A reliable source revealed that the incident which to place on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 within the hours of 3pm, caused panic within the Abonema Jetty as people scampered to safety on hearing sporadic gunshots by the sea pirates.
The source mentioned that this was the first time such an omen befall the area, maintaining that the policemen died before they could be rescued.
The eyewitness said, “What i noticed was that the sea pirates had laid ambush for them.
“We learnt that one of the policemen killed was an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
“In all four, of them were killed.
“There was serious panic at the Abonema wharf when the incident happened as people ran helter-skelter when they heard the loud sounds of gunshots.
“it was noticed that the policemen were shot and killed after the situation had calmed down.”
According to another source activities came to a lull, following the incident.
A security official disclosed that the sea pirates had moved base from Calabar, the Cross River State, to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, due to the fact that they could not withstand the heat and pressure mounted on them by the police in Cross River.
“What happened today could be seen as fallout to the shift of sea pirates from Calabar to Port-Harcourt, it has not been easy for these criminals in Calabar and that is why they have shifted base to Rivers.
“But we know something must be done to stop them,” the security official stated.
