The incident took place along the waterways and creeks of Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Our source said the JTF military personnel were on escort duty for cargo belonging to the Brass terminal owned by NAOC when the gunmen opened fire on them.
The source, which sought anonymity, said the military personnel were ambushed by deadly pirates.
“It is suspected that the gunmen either hijacked the gunboat [and] later killed the soldiers and threw their dead bodies into the water, or they shot and pushed them into the water before stealing the gunboat," he said.
According to him, "The gunboat appears to be the target of the hoodlums especially as arms are being stockpiled by militants for 2015. The Santa Barbara where the incident occurred is in Nembe and is notorious for piracy".
The JTF Operation Pulo Shield however believes that the soldiers are only missing, not dead.
JTF Media Coordnator, Col. Mustapha Anka, confirmed the attack but said it was premature to conclude that the soldiers were killed by the pirates.
He said the outfit had activated its search-and-rescue team, and that frantic efforts were being made to locate the soldiers.
