A Nigerian soldier was shot dead after pirates attacked a military patrol team on the high seas off the Nigerian coast this week.

Peoples Gazette learnt from military sources that Terry Peter, a sergeant, was killed in the December 2 attack near Bille, Rivers. The soldiers were providing security for Eroton, an oil exploration and production company in Alakiri. 

The fallen soldier’s AK-47 rifle and its ammunition were also carted away by the pirates, who remained at large as of Sunday afternoon, military sources said under anonymity to disclose the deadly incident which the military authorities have yet to make public.

A reinforcement later intervened to disperse the pirates and recover the sergeant’s remains, which had since been deposited at a military hospital. A military driver was also wounded in the incident.

A spokesman for the Nigerian Army did not immediately return a request seeking comments about what the military had learnt about those responsible for the attack.