Suspected pirates kill two Nigerian policemen

LAGOS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least two Nigerian policemen were killed in a shootout with suspected pirates in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, a top police chief said Tuesday.

Asuquo Amba, the police chief in charge of oil rich Bayelsa, said the pirates also made away with two rifles and a 200 horsepower outboard boat engine.

"We tried to be as defensive as possible. In the course of exchange of fire we lost two policemen who were shot in action and they were able to make away with two of our rifles," he told reporters.

"To show you the extent of exchange of fire at the scene we were able to recover a G3 magazine, which was used by them, with 17 live ammunition and 18 expended ammunition," the police chief added.

Amba regretted the resurgence of the activities of pirates which the police had curtailed during the festive period.

The police chief said available intelligence indicated that there had been a resurgence of activities of pirates in the state to sabotage the efforts of the government to secure the waterways.

The latest report released by the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) revealed that there were 36 reported incidents in the Gulf of Guinea in 2017 with no vessels hijacked in this area and 10 incidents of kidnapping involving 65 crew members in or around Nigerian waters. Enditem