No fewer
than 14 persons have been reportedly murdered in Sime community in Tai Local
Government Area of Rivers State, when gunmen invaded the area on Thursday
night.
Saturday Sun
gathered that unknown armed men invaded the community, shooting sporadically,
leaving 14 residents dead and several others with bullet wounds.
A community
source, who confirmed the incident, stated that the corpses had been retrieved
and deposited in the morgue.
The source,
who did not want to be named, said the incident has caused tension in the area,
forcing the residents to flee to neighbouring communities for fear of reprisal
attack.
Recall that
last Saturday, a gateman attached to a politician in Sime and his uncle were
killed by unknown gunmen.
In a related
development, six persons have been allegedly kidnapped in a fishing settlement
in Asaramatoru, in Andoni Local Government Area of the state.
Relating the
incident, a community leader simply identified as Blessing, revealed that the
abductors escaped in five speedboats with the victims.
According to
the source, many of the natives who fled into bush, when the bandits
struck, “have not returned home and
feared missing or dead”.
At press
time, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), has
not confirmed the development to newsmen.
Meanwhile, a
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, House of Representatives, for
Oyigbo, Eleme-Tai Federal Constituency in the 2015 elections, Dr. Jacobson
Nbina, said the killings were politically motivated.
Nbina, who
is a native of the affected community, alleged that PDP members were killed in
the attack, adding that some others were missing.
The sun news reported that He alleged:
“My brothers and sisters please help to pray for Sime community. The worst has
just happened to me again! I earlier informed you of last weekend’s invasion of
my residence and the brutal killing of my security guard and my uncle with my
driver escaping with bullet wounds at my gate!
“As I speak
to you, over 20 PDP youths of my community Sime-Tai are brutally murdered and
several others taken away alive as unknown gunmen invaded my community midnight
of yesterday”.
The State
Police Command has deployed personnel to the troubled community to fish out the
perpetrators of the heinous act.
This was
disclosed by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni, a
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), saying that it was cult related.
He however
did not confirm the casualty figure.
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