Mr Jerry Atta, spokesperson for Zone C, Custom’s Federal Operations Unit, gave the confirmation on Sunday.

He explained that the officers were attacked by armed men on Saturday night at a patrol base in Isiokpo – the headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.

The zonal spokesman added that after killing the security operatives, the gunmen went away with an Ak-47 rifle and two Toyota Hilux vans belonging to the service.

He noted that a thorough investigation would be carried out to unravel the circumstances that led to the attack and  the motive of the assailants.

Atta blamed the killing of the security operatives on armed smugglers whose businesses have been frustrated by the customs in recent times.

Although police authorities in the state have confirmed the attack, they went silent on whether any of their personnel was killed.

“We have launched a full-scale investigation into the dastardly attack with a view to arresting the perpetrators and bringing them to justice,” the Commissioner of Police in Rivers, Eboka Friday, said in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer in Rivers, Nnamdi Omoni.