SOME gunmen suspected to be engaged in oil theft have attacked and killed a soldier in Bayelsa State.

It was gathered that the incident happened around Apoi in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state on Monday.

Sources said the soldier was allegedly on official duty of pipeline surveillance when he was gunned down by his assailants.

The slain officer was said to have been shot dead in the bush between Apoi and Azuzuama communities where a pipeline runs through in the area.

It was further learnt that the bandits also escaped with the rifle of the deceased before community folks mobilised to the scene.

The Movement for the Survival of the Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta, Apoi Clan chapter, has condemned the killing of the soldier and described it as “barbaric and inhuman”.

The chairman of MOSIEND in the clan, Duba Fidelis, who reacted to the incident, assured security agencies that the clan would work with them to fish out the culprits.

The Spokesperson for the 16 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Elebele, near Yenagoa, the state capital, Captain Tonye Wenke, did not answer calls placed to his phone.

He also did not respond to a text message by our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.