Police Onslaught Against Cultists Claims Octogenarian’s Life

policemen

Police operation to contain cultists yesterday allegedly claimed the life of an 83-year-old man in Mgbuoshimiri community, Obio/Akpor local government council of Rivers State.

President-General of Mgbuoshimiri Community Council, Ohazurume Chukwu, who spoke to journalists, said the man fell down, when the Police invaded the venue where leaders and elders of the community were holding a peace meeting.

However, the State Police Command has said that normalcy has returned to Ogba/Ogbema/Ndoni local government council after the cult clashes there which claimed over 20 lives last week.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Muhammad, disclosed that massive police personnel were deployed immediately to the area to maintain order warning those engaged in cultism to desist from their nefarious acts as the command would not hesitate to arrest and prosecute anyone found engaging in cult related activities.

While confirming the incident at Mgbuoshimiri community Muhammad said the matter was still being investigated.
President-General of the Community, Chukwu, disclosed that the Police were shooting into the air at the venue of their meeting adding that the police were apparently misinformed by some members of the community that cultists were gathering there.

What happened was that, this morning, we were in a meeting, when one Mini, Benson and Anele (surnames withheld), came with some policemen, to invade the venue of our meeting. And when we tried to find out what the reasons are, the policemen told us that these persons that I mentioned told them that it was cult members that were meeting.

And we told them that they can see it was community that is meeting; and they insisted because they have been induced. So, they insisted that they have to arrest some persons; we said no; whatever tis the problem that they should tell us.

So, in the cause of doing that, the policemen started shooting at the instruction of the three persons. They started shooting to the point that the oldest man in the community, Elder Acho Maxwell Chukwu; fell down and died as a result of their shooting”, he narrated.

He called on the state Commissioner of Police, Musa Kimo, to investigate the persons, who raised the alarm and bring them to justice stressing that “the problem is, some few greedy persons want to eat the commonwealth of the community alone.”

They are the people that instigated the confusion; and this problem has been for a while. The agencies that are saddled with the responsibility of bringing justice, when such a thing is done, should swing into action and make sure that these three persons pay for what they have done today. That is the only way peace can come.
“I am calling for their arrest; I am calling for their prosecution because they have committed murder. These three persons have committed murdered. They have killed a man of 83 years. They killed him and they must be brought to justice”, he stated.

It was however gathered that angry youths went on rampage destroying property of those who were alleged to have raised the false alarm.