A gang of heavily armed men suspected to be militants on Saturday overran a police station, having overwhelmed the policemen on duty, and carted away several arms and ammunition in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
It was learnt that the hoodlums attempted a raid on a United Bank for Africa (UBA) branch in the same area, but failed. They however reportedly escaped with the bank’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM), which was suspected to be stuffed with cash.
Amassoma, a coastal town, like many Ijaw areas, is some 30 kilometres away from Yenagoa, the state Capital and is home former governor of the state, to late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
It was gathered that the gang of militants stormed the community, which also hosts the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) through the waterways at about 1am on Friday and operated for several hours before leaving.
Shortly after arriving on a speedboat, they were said to have moved straight to the police station located in the area and engaged the policemen in a gun duel, overpowering them in the process.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Butswat Asinim said he was yet to be fully briefed about the incident.
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