Gunmen on the rampage in Rivers, Abia, Enugu

By TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt, OKEY SAMPSON, Umuahia and JUDE CHINEDU, Enugu

Gunmen, on Saturday, invaded Kono Boue community in Khana LGA of Rivers State and killed four young men.

The victims were identified as Lekara Bira (32 years), Torka (40) and two others, whose identities could not be ascertained at the time of filing the report.

Daily Sun gathered that the assailants, who were in possession of AK 47 rifles, invaded the community, targeting young men.

The Public Relations Officer of the Community Development Committee (CDC), Golden Nwibakpo, confirmed the incident to journalists, decrying the incessant killings in Kono Boue.

Mr. Nwibakpo disclosed that the four men who were killed did not belong to any cult group, but are law abiding citizens of the community.

He suggested that the police authority should site a station in the community, to curb the incessant killings.

The community’s PRO urged the Rivers Government to make the deplorable road in the community motorable, to ensure proper patrol of the area by security agencies.

He further disclosed that the community was deserted as residents fled to Bori town the capital of Khana LGA.

Also, gunmen, in the early hours of yesterday, attacked and burnt another police station in Abia State, the Apumiri Ubakala Police Station, in Umuahia South Local Government Area.

The attack, which occurred despite the 8pm to 6am curfew imposed on parts of the state by the state government, was the fifth in the series in the past one week.

Confirming the attack, the state police command PPRO, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, said the gunmen arrived at 12.10am from different directions to attack the station.

Ogbonna said policemen on duty engaged the hoodlums in gun duel, forcing the gunmen to use explosives which resulted in the killing of two cops.

The PPRO said he was not in a position to confirm if guns were carted away by the gunmen until police take inventory of the armory.

He said vehicles parked at the station, including that of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), were set ablaze.

Equally, criminal suspects inside the station’s cell were said to have been set free by the rampaging gunmen.

Ogbonna called on medical practitioners in and around the state to report anybody with bullet wounds to the nearest police formation as, according to him, some of the gunmen escaped with bullet wounds.

Meanwhile, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu has condemned the attack, which led to death of two policemen and loss of valuable properties, describing it as barbaric and reprehensible.

Nwogu, who represented Abia Central Senatorial District, in a release said she was shocked at the attack which she described as “Man’s act of wickedness”.

She called on the relevant authorities and security apparatus to swing into action and apprehend the perpetrators of the dastardly act and bring them to justice.

In a related development, gunmen, on Sunday, attacked the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Enugu.

The attack, which started at about 8:30pm, led to the burning of about six Hilux vans and some sections of the building.

It was learnt that the attackers, numbering about seven, had set fire on some of the offices in the complex, but the quick intervention of a combined team of security agents and fire fighters helped in diºspersing them and controlling the situation.

INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Enugu, Dr Emeka Ononamadu, who confirmed the incident, said, “We are just meeting; I think I will speak with the press in the morning, so we can get our facts right.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Enugu, Mr Muhammad Aliyu, has launched a full-scale investigation into the incidence.

In a statement issued by Enugu Police spokesman, Mr Daniel Ndukwe, yesterday, the Commissioner also ordered the, “emplacement of adequate security within the precincts of the office.”

He also enjoined law-abiding citizens of the state to remain vigilant and promptly volunteer useful information that would help the police in the investigation. (Adapted from Daily SUN)