Three communities of Rivers State were on Monday invaded by gunmen suspected to be cultisms, leaving no fewer than 12 persons dead.
Seven persons were allegedly mowed down in the Kaani Babbe community in the Khana Local Government Area of the state; five persons, including a 64-year-old man, were killed in the Rumuohia and Rumuche communities in the Emohua Local Government Area.
It was gathered that trouble started when members of a rival group were attacked on their way to a funeral in what appeared to be a reprisal.
Speaking on the incident, the National Leader of the Ogoni Peoples Conscience, Gani Topba, said that the gunmen attacked residents, who were sleeping in their houses, around 5am on Monday.
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He said, “The level of killings in Ogoni has been very high and what happened on Monday was not new. The people were sleeping in their homes when the gunmen invaded the area and killed them.
“Government at all levels must know that security is their obligation and they should take it seriously. If they can stop the killings in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, they can also stop the killings in Ogoni. Government should know that Ogoni is part of Nigeria and also needs protection.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, pointed out that those responsible for the deadly attacks were living in the affected communities, adding that residents deliberately refused to volunteer information that could lead to the arrest of the culprits.
Omoni stated, “The DPO in charge of the affected area in Khana said that it was a cult-related incident. The families of the deceased went away with their corpses without allowing the police to catch a glimpse of the bodies for investigation purposes.
“The communities are not willing to give information and that is our challenge. The boys, who perpetrated this act, live in the communities; the people know them. They (communities) should give us information so that we can fight these common enemies.”