5 dead as gunmen storm police station in Nigeria

Unidentified gunmen have killed five policemen and seized several weapons in a raid on a police station in the oil-rich southern Nigerian state of Rivers.

The attack took place early on Sunday on Bonny Island, the site of one of Nigeria's largest oil and gas export terminals, spokeswoman Ireju Barasua said.

It was not immediately clear who had carried out the assault on the Bonny Divisional Police Station.

Rivers state has witnessed a surge in attacks in recent weeks by a rebel group seeking greater autonomy for the oil-producing region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

Royal Dutch Shell has been forced to shut down at least 169,000 barrels a day of production following an attack on a pipeline leading to the Bonny terminal over a week ago. There has been no word on when output will resume.

MEND has promised to step up its attacks and inflict further damage to Nigeria's oil production, which is also being curtailed by a strike over labour conditions by workers at Exxon Mobil, Nigeria's leading producer.