Royal Father Worried As Residents Flee Over Killings In Rivers Community
2 min read
Edith CHUKU
A traditional ruler in Obelle Community of Emuoha Local Government Area of Rivers State has described as painful and gruesome, the killing of two persons in his community, barely 12 years after four persons were killed in the neigbouring Ibaa Community, in same Emuoha local government.
Eze Israel Anele who is also a former acting Community Development Committee Chairman, CDC, of the community, urged agitated fleeing residents to be calm, promising that all hands are on deck to arrest the situation.
Speaking with TNN in an interview, Anele said “ it is very, very painful. And in fact all hands are on deck with the security agency and the traditional rulers to see that such gruesome killings are been put to an end. We are working on it.
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“As it stands now, as the custodian of law and order, and as traditional leaders we are begging the cultists to shred their sword because most of the killings came from the fight for supremacy, show of cultists, supremacy of the power, that’s what happened for the Ibaa killings where some people were killed.
“But that of Obelle own was like a kind of another attack again, people who were coming back from farm, they went and attacked them. Even this morning (Saturday, April 2), they shot another boy again who is not a cultist.
He assured residents that “all things being equal, the security men and the chiefs and other people, we are having a meeting now to ensure that people should not flee from the village, to ensure that calm is been restored, that they should have hope on the security agency that are in town to make sure that peace is restored, equally ensure that those culprits are been apprehended.”
It was in the wee hours of Friday, April 1, 2022, that gunmen suspected to be members of a faction of the ‘disbanded’ OSPAC, gunned down four members of a rival faction in Ibaa Community.
It is alleged that the killing may not be unconnected to battle for control of Illegal levy known as ‘matching ground’ between two factions of ‘disbanded’ OSPAC.
In the afternoon of same Friday, two persons were killed in a farm in Obelle Community, still in Emuoha LGA.
Though, the state commissioner of police is said to have deployed six patrol teams to Obelle community, but some natives have started leaving the community for fear of escalation of violence.
