Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Omoku, the headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local Government of Rivers State, host to oil and gas companies was thrown into panic and mournful mood as no fewer than ten persons were killed and property worth millions of naira destroyed on Saturday night.

It was gathered that rival cult gangs exchanged gunfire and caught in the fusillade was a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His identity could not be ascertained at press time.

Many people had fled the community, following the sporadic shootings.

Witnesses in the area hinted that the cause of the deadly violence arose from the fight for supremacy.

About 10 gunmen had laid siege on the community at about 2 a.m Saturday, shooting sporadically.

Residents who had slept were startled from their sleep by the sound of firearms.

Those who tried to flee the town in panic were shot at.

Another witness claimed that the gun-toting cultists searched from house to house, and ordered occupants out of their houses. They then shot them.

Victor Ahianmadu,the Caretaker Committee Chairman the local government council area, confirmed that more than five persons including a chieftain of APC, were killed by the unknown gunmen.

He refused to reveal the identity of the APC chieftain.

The Chairman of Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party,PDP,Felix Obuah,was once the Chairman of local Government council.

Ahianmadu called on the residents of the community who fled the town to return, as security operatives had taken over the community and ensured adequate security for the innocent.

Gift Nwokocha,the lawmaker representing Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni in Rivers House of Assembly lamented the reckless killings in the area.

“Over 15 persons have been killed by gunmen and this keeps happening unchallenged. Our people are hopeless and helpless despite being blessed with abundant natural resources.”

The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO,DSP Ahmad Muhammad, has confirmed the incident and attributed the shooting to a cult war, assuring that the police had spread their dragnet to arrest the gunmen.