File photo: Niger Delta Militants

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Barely 24 hours after the killing of 14 persons in Sime community in Tai local government in Rivers State, yesterday, unknown gunmen have invaded Asarama-toro Community, a fishing settlement in Andoni local government area of Rivers State at the early hours of Saturday, June 3, killing nine persons.

It is not clear the remote or immediate cause of the invasion but the Chairman of the Community Develpment Committee, CDC, of fishing settlement in Asarama-toro Community fishing settlement, Japheth Blessing, who confirmed the incident said the gunmen invaded the community before dawn today.

The CDC Chairman of Asaramatoro, Japheth Blessings, is calling on the state government and security agencies to come to the aid of the community and protect lives and property and restore normalcy to the distraught fishing settlement.

“We are calling on the Governor of Rivers State, the Caretaker Committee Chairman and the Area Commander and Security forces to come to our aid. This is not the first time we have been attacked. Many members of our community have fled our Community for safety.”

It will be recalled that 14 persons were shot dead while many others persons were critically injured in Sime in Tai Local Government area in Ogoniland of Rivers State after a bloody cult gang clash in the community in the early hours of , Friday June 3.

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

However, a former federal lawmaker, Jacobson Nbina Barenaka, who represented Tai, Elemen, Oyigbo Federal Constituency dismissed the massacre in Sime community yesterday as cult gang clash.

He linked the attack on his community to a vengeful mission by gang members of a suspected notorious kidnapper popularly known as “Supreme” who used Sime Community as camp and hideout for their criminal operations but was killed by security agencies.

According to Jacobson Nbina Barenaka,”Our Community was used by Supreme, the notorious kidnapper as camp and operational base even when he is from Eleme Local Government. Based on the nefarious activities of “Supreme” and his gang, security agencies were tipped off and the gang leader killed.”

“The gang members of “Supreme”, are the ones who came to my community and killed some members of my immediate family and supporters. At the last count, 16 people have been killed in my community,”the former lawmaker said.

Both the State government and Rivers Police Command were yet to react to the latest onslaughts at the time of filing the report.

It is noteworthy that the Rivers State Government under the directive Governor Nyesom Wike granted amnesty to repentant criminal gangs members in the state.