Bodo community in Gokana Local Council of Rivers State has lamented the killing of two pipeline security officers assigned to provide surveillance, after the oil spill in the area, by some yet-to-be-identified gunmen.

Recall that a fresh oil spill reportedly occurred on August 18, at the Sugi area of Bodo, where multiple spills were recorded in recent times on the trans-Niger Delta pipeline operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Ltd.

The Guardian gathered that following lack of investigations by government, and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to unravel the cause of the spill, the community mandated some youths to keep watch over the oil spill site pending when investigations into the cause of the spill and repairs on the affected pipeline were done.

It was learnt that at about 2:00a.m. on Saturday, August 26, the youths guarding the site were attacked by some gunmen leading to two deaths, while others sustained gunshot injuries.

The deceased persons were Wisdom Pilla and Barioma Dutu, while five others, who sustained bullet injuries are Charles Saago, Tombari Akere, Lekaga Agbi, Oliver Nyimaage and Barinem Pigalo.

Coordinator of Movement for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) in Gokana Kingdom, Celestine Baribefe Viula, who confirmed the deaths, said the community has reported the matter to the Divisional Police Station in Gokana, but nothing has been done.

In his reaction, President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, condemned the attack and described it as barbaric. He said the incident was very painful and unfortunate.

While condoling with the families of those affected, Nuske urged the police to investigate the crimes and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book.

Nsuke also blamed SPDC for the incident, alleging “the incident wouldn’t have happened if not for the presence of Shell’s pipelines in the community.

At press time, spokesperson for Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, was yet to respond to calls and text messages sent to her phone.

PHOTO and Caption: CP Emeka Abonyi