Gunmen kill another Nigerian Civil Defence officer, third in two months

Barely two months after two officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) were killed by unknown gunmen, another officer was on Saturday killed in Rivers State by suspected oil thieves.

A statement released by the security agency’s spokesperson, Ekunola Gbenga, on Sunday, said Godwin Mbula, a chief corps assistant, was killed early Saturday at Shell Manifold located at Gio, Rivers State.

Rivers, an oil-rich state in the Niger Delta region, has a long history of oil bunkering and clashes between vandals and security operatives.

The statement said the gunmen, “suspected to be oil bunkerers (thieves),” went to the “manifold known as Gio to siphon oil, but were resisted by the NSCDC men guiding the manifold.”

A “massive manhunt for the perpetrators of the dastardly act” has been ordered by the corps boss, Abdullahi Gana, the statement said.

“The commandant general said the nation is facing challenges with unrepentant vandals,” adding that “the Corps was also giving them sleepless time to reduce to the lowest minimum nefarious activities of vandals across the nation.”

The killing, which was said to have been perpetrated at about 3 a.m. Saturday, is the third the corps will announce since April.

Earlier in April, the duo of Joseph Ochogwu and Abeeka Abeeka were murdered by suspected gun-wielding herdsmen in Benue State, according to a statement by the agency at the time.

But Mr Gana maintained that “despite the attacks on our officers on a daily basis, we have vowed to bring an end to oil theft, bunkering activities and attack on all government critical infrastructures in the country.”