Navy Kills 7 Militants From Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt,

The Nigerian Navy at NNS Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said it had killed seven suspected militants and rescued about three passengers whom the militants had dispossessed and dumped at a camp between Isaka and Bakana in Rivers State.
This is as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said the planned release of Mr. Mathew Maguire, the Briton in their custody for the past nine months, could not hold as he offered to stay with them in protest till the release of their leader Henry Okah.
According to the new naval spokesman, Lt. Edward Yeibo, their men were on a routine patrol of the area when they ran into a boat that flagged them down, in a manner to show distress.
He said the boatmen narrated the hijack in three-passenger boats on their way from the market by the hoodlums who asked them to take every passenger in their boat to an island or risk death.
“A naval patrol boat on routine patrol between Isaka and Bakana was confronted by a seven-man militant group that had not long ago robbed three market boats on their way to Bayelsa State.
The navy, during the defensive gun battle, killed the seven militants, recovered three AK47 rifles, one falcon pump action rifle, one double barrelled gun, one axe, 65 rounds of ammunition and thereafter set the boat ablaze,” Yeibo said.
They thereafter moved towards the island where the militants detained their hostages and on sighting the patrol boat, the militants opened fire on the naval men who returned fire with superior firepower and killed the seven militants. They subsequently freed the hostages.
He said the boats of the militants were set ablaze since towing it would slow the knots of the gunboats, as “after such operation, you are not expected to waste any time in returning to base, so they blew up the boat”.
The Commander of NNS Pathfinder, Yusuf Jonga, assured the people that the navy was determined to ensuring safety on the waterways for law abiding citizens of the country.

According to MEND, the Briton allegedly said he was now a member of MEND and would not take his freedom till the Okah regained his freedom.
“Mr. Mathew Maguire has declined the gift of a release from captivity with an argument that he is now an advocate for change in the region and an honorary member of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
“He insists that his release should only be considered when Henry Okah is freed to participate in a credible peace process or has been allowed to travel for his urgent kidney surgery.
“This has come as a surprise to us and we cannot forcibly eject him from our camp against his will,” spokesman of MEND Gbomo Jomo said.