A nighttime attack on Rumuodogo community in the Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State has left two people dead and five others injured.
The assailants are suspected to be from the neighboring Bukuma community in Degema LGA. Residents believe the violence may be linked to the recent discovery of two dead Bukuma fishermen on a riverbank, whose fishing nets were subsequently found in the homes of some Rumuodogo residents.
Meanwhile, Azubuike Abaruko, the head of the Rumuodogo Community Development Committee, confirmed the attack and stated that some residents are still unaccounted for.
“About seven different compounds were burnt down, about 15 houses were destroyed and two persons were killed. Others are still in the bush and we have not seen some persons. The people that got injured, some of them are taking treatment in the hospital. The ones that I met are about five persons,” he said.
Reports indicate that Rumuodogo’s leadership has detained several community members and handed them over to the police in connection with the fishermen’s deaths. Meanwhile, Emohua LGA Chairman Dr. Chidi Lloyd has urged the police to launch a full investigation into the assault on the Rumuodogo community.
He said, “I will not want to make any statement that will prejudice police investigation. Police are still investigating what may have been the remote and immediate cause of what happened. From preliminary report available to me, two Bukuma fishermen were found dead in the river and incidentally, their nets were found in the houses of residents of Rumuodogo.
Chances are that those people whose houses those nets were found may not be the people who committed the atrocity because the water carries nets. That would be within the purview of the police and other security agencies to unravel,” he said.
Backstory…
The latest attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents that have unsettled parts of Rivers State over the years, despite repeated assurances from security agencies that the situation is under control.
Communities in Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Emohua, Khana and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas have witnessed recurring attacks linked to cult rivalries, gang clashes and criminal groups battling for territorial control.
Several residents have been killed, homes torched and scores displaced in separate incidents, prompting the deployment of additional security personnel by both the Federal Government and the Rivers State authorities.
Read Also: Security crisis hits Abuja as gunmen abduct 4, kill vigilante
