Gunmen, believed to be affiliated with a cult, have perpetrated a brutal attack resulting in the deaths of six individuals across two communities situated in Ahoada East and West Local Councils of Rivers State.
According to reports, one person was fatally shot in Abarikpo community, Ahoada East council, in the early hours of Wednesday, while five others were killed in Odiereke-Ubie community in Ahoada West Local Council on Tuesday.
The Public Relations Officer of Akoh Youth Congress in Akoh Kingdom, Ekeakita Hector Chinem, reports that armed cultists, suspected to be residing in a nearby community, invaded the Abarikpo community around 4:05 a.m. Their primary objective was to target three individuals for execution.
However, due to unfortunate circumstances, they found Aburi Dickson Edi sleeping in his house. Without hesitation, they stormed into his residence, shooting him in the stomach, which resulted in his intestines being exposed.
Subsequently, they fled to their hideout on a motorcycle.
Likewise, in the Odiereke Ubie community, Ward 9 of Ahoada West council, five youths were killed on Tuesday due to the community’s refusal to pay one million Naira to the criminals hiding in the nearby bush.
The community lacked the necessary funds, as none of their elites were present at home, and the residents themselves were financially incapable. When the five youths returned from their farm harvesting, the cultists arrived on three motorcycles, mercilessly killing them before departing without any obstacles.
Chinem expressed his disagreement with the statement issued by certain Chiefs from the Ekpeye Ethnic Nationality in Ahoada East and West Local Councils, refuting the existence of insecurity in the region.
He emphasized that killings occur on a weekly and monthly basis within Ekpeye land. He urged Rivers State Police Commissioner (CP) Nwonyi Emeka to ensure the perpetrators are apprehended and brought to justice, highlighting that the hideouts of these criminals are already known, raising questions as to why the security agencies have yet to apprehend them.
The Command’s spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed that six individuals were indeed killed by suspected cultists in Odiereke Ubie community, Ahoada West, while they were collecting palm fronts. She also verified the incidents in Abarikpo community, stating that efforts are underway to apprehend the culprits.
