Foropa is in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The three soldiers were attached to the Joint Force (JF), Operation Pulo Shield (OPS) in Bayelsa State. It was gathered that the gunmen, suspected to be militants, operated in a speedboat.
The gunmen were said to have carted away two AK47 riffles, a General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) and other ammunition at the Foropa checkpoint.
A security source said the militants struck about 1:30a.m. in a surprise attack, adding that the soldiers could have been sleeping when the incident occurred.
According to him, “It was a surprise attack because the gunmen caught the soldiers unawares. They opened fire on them, killed three of them and carted away their arms and ammunition.”
He further said that there had been deliberate attacks on armed security agents and formations in the region by suspected militants.
“These militants attack security agents, ostensibly to steal their arms and ammunition. Criminally minded youths are stockpiling arms again. This calls for vigilance among security operatives.”
It was gathered that residents of Foropa were fleeing the community for fear of military invasion and indiscriminate arrest of innocent persons.
Bodies of the slain soldiers were evacuated by the security outfit before dawn.
Spokesman of the security outfit, Col. Isa Ado, was not available for comments, as calls made to his mobile phone were not answered.
Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Rivers State, hoodlums also killed security guards at the Rivers State Judiciary Complex.
The attack forced the au thorities to close down the complex, which was shut down for almost two years during the last years of the immediate past Rotimi Amaechi administration.
The judiciary complex, which houses the state High Court, was attacked about 3a.m. by hoodlums, who wielded machetes.
There were bloodstains in the area where the killing took place and it was unclear whether or not the two guards that were killed were hacked to death or clubbed.
According to the Chief Security Officer of the judiciary complex, Datubo Douglas, the guards were four before the hoodlums arrived, but one escaped unhurt, while the fourth guard was badly injured.
He said that the injured guard was rushed to an undisclosed hospital.
Following the killing, security operatives have been deployed in the court premises, while workers who reported for duty were asked to go home.
Spokesman of the State Police Command, Ahmad Mohammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said that investigations have commenced on the killing in a bid to fish out the killers.
He said: “When we got the information, our men stormed the scene and discovered that the assailants had fled. But from our initial analysis, it appeared the security men were sleeping when they were attacked. From all indications, the assailants used hard objects to hit them on the head.”
Meanwhile, the 2 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, yesterday paraded 17 suspected cultists and kidnappers, who were said to be terrorizing Rivers State and its environs.
They were picked up in various parts of the state, including Ogba/Egbema/ Ndoni and Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local Government areas, where recent killings occurred.
Spokesman of 2 Brigade, Captain Eli Lazarus, who addressed reporters, noted that the arrest of the suspects followed raids by the army after it stepped up its operations.
Some of the suspects, according to Lazarus, were neck-deep in criminality.
Among the weapons recovered from them were 16 AK-47 assault rifles, five general purpose machine guns, two rifles, 11 short Dane guns, 508 rounds of 7.62 mm (NATO) ammunition and six locally-made pistols.
Also on display were two Beretta pistols, three cartridges, 313 rounds of 7.62mm (special ammunition) and two revolver pistols.
Also recovered from the suspects were, a pair of military boots, three military belts, one fragmented jacket, three line yards, nine pieces of dynamite and one cartridge belt.
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