14 dead, many injured in Rivers’ community cult war

Gunmen (file photo)

Okafor Ofiebor/ Port Harcourt

Fourteen persons were shot dead while many others were critically injured in Sime, Tai Local Government area Rivers State following a bloody clash between cult gangs in the community in the early hours of Friday.

Bob Uelor Nkue, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Tai Local Government who confirmed the massacre regretted that the dastardly incident occurred barely a month after Governor Nyesom Wike extended  a second round of amnesty programme to  four local government areas in Ogoniland for members of various cult members to renounce their membership and surrender their weapons.

It was also learnt that due to the ferocious gun battle that characterized the cult clash, a lot of residents have fled their homes in droves.

“I totally condemn this attack that led to the death of 14 persons, because the Governor has given a second chance to cultists and criminals in whole Ogoniland to embrace the state amnesty. And a few days back in two persons were killed.

“I use this opportunity to call on people of Sime not to panic as the Police and other security agencies are on top of the situation,” Nkue assured

Ogoniland, like many parts of Rivers state, in recent times has been a hot bed of deadly cult gang fights.

In the first round of Rivers state government amnesty programme criminal gangs operating in the area refused to surrender their weapons.

A second chance was also extended to them but the number of weapons surrendered were small compared with dangerous weapons suspected to be in hands of criminal gangs in the oil rich Ogoniland.

The state Police Command is yet to comment on the incident at the time of filing this report.