Cult War, Residents Flee Rivers Community As LG Boss Places Bounty on Gang
Barikui Felix, Port Harcourt
The Chairman of Emohua Local Government Council in Rivers State, Chief David Omereji, has placed a bounty of 30 million Naira on killer gangs terrorising Obele community in the area.
Omereji made the pronouncement on Monday when he undertook an unscheduled visit to the community. He pledged that any individual who provides valuable information leading to the arrest of the killer gangs would receive 10 million. At the same time, security agencies, including the Department of State Security, DSS, that track down the hoodlums within the next 72 hours would also get 30 million Naira.
The pronouncement followed the deserting of the community by locals over fear of reprisal attacks from rival cult gangs terrorising the community. Recall that Obele Community was attacked at the weekend by suspected cultists, leading to the deaths of over seven persons.
The council chairman, while speaking at the community, noted that it was a challenge to his administration that some criminal elements were making the community unsafe through the bloodletting of innocent citizens, vowing to resign if the terror gangs are not fished out and made to face the consequences of their actions.
“I have placed a bounty of 10 million naira. Anybody with useful information that would lead to the arrest of these criminals who came to shed blood in this community, the government of Emohua will work out modalities, and this 10 million Naira will be paid. Any security heads, through their men, who can apprehend the criminals within 72 hours and bring them to book, including the DSS, will be rewarded 30 million naira. These people, whether their friends or sponsors, must make sure that those who committed such an evil act must be brought to book, ” he stated.
The visibly angry LG chairman said it was necessary to apprehend the criminals so that the crime would not escalate to neighbouring communities.
“I have prayed and called the God of heaven because anything that affects the Obele community will be duplicated at Ibaa and will now trigger other parts of Emohua LGA. Just like the case of Egbeda, when it happened, it affected Ubimini and many parts of the other wards.
“How can they come and place fear in everybody’s mind? What will anybody gain? You kill people for no just cause, what a shame. I’d rather resign than see these people continue again “, he vowed.
He appealed to people of the community to volunteer necessary information that would help security agencies end the dastardly act, stating that he would continue to visit Obele until the perpetrators were brought to book.
Omereji who maintained that he would not abdicate his duties of protecting lives and properties in the council, thanked the various security agencies for their sacrifices, assuring that such was imperative to end the wave of indiscriminate killings in the community.
For his part, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of Rumuji Police Station, CSP Larry Augustus, who took the chairman’s team around the community, said the police and other sister security agencies were on red alert and called on those who fled the community to come back.
