Gunmen abduct 4 men, cart away boats in Rivers coastal community

Gunmen abduct 4 men, cart away boats in Rivers coastal community

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 4:20 pm


Gunmen (file photo)

Youth President laments absence of security in the coastal community

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Unknown gunmen, under the cover of darkness, at about 10 pm on Tuesday, invaded the sleepy coastal community of Bakana in Degema local Government area of Rivers State leaving not less than four persons and six speed boats missing.

The Youth President of Bakana in Degema local government area, Comrade Francis Dike , who narrated the incident said several persons are missing after the invaders stormed the community shooting sporadically unchallenged.

He said the surprise invasion of Bakana caught the residents off guard, forcing them to look for places to hide for safety throughout the period of invasion.

The youth leader , Francis Dike, said that by this Wednesday morning ,some families reported cases of missing persons with traces of blood littered in front of their houses as though they were dragged along before taking them away in their getaway boats. They are not sure whether the abducted persons are alive or dead.

He also claimed that six speed boats have also been declared after the invasion, thus, making it difficult to travel in and out of the community as their only means of transportation is through the waterways and on boats.

He added that the people are now unable to go for fishing, markets or school.

“Yesterday night at bedtime, the yet-to-be identified invaders were already in community shooting sporadically into the air forcing residents to run for safety places. Nobody could challenge them because we don’t have security people on ground. They did whatever they wanted to do.

“After they left, four young men were missing. How people were able to notice were the traces blood stains may be that of the missing persons who were probably dragged out on the floor to their waiting speedboats packed at the jetty. Other speedboats belonging to members of the community were also carted away,” Francis Dike said.

However, some members of the community who pleaded for anonymity accused the Degema local government council Chairman, Dr Tony Philmore, of not doing enough to provide security in the area.

“The Chairman of the local government is from Bakana, Ward 5,he has not done enough to provide security for Bakana. We need security. We cannot continue like this.”

At the time of the report, the Rivers State Police Command has not reacted to the invasion of Bakana last.
Just yesterday, interstate travelers on the East-West road had their journeys disrupted for about a half an hour due to a robbery incident around the Oduoha axis of Emohua local government area on Federal highway.

Rivers state is one of the state 21 states that the UK government warned their citizens not to visit in their latest travel advisory.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has called on members of the European Union for technical assistance in the area of security.

He made the call when the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria, Ketil Karlsen on Tuesday during a forum of the European Union Heads of Missions in Abuja in a presentation titled: “Understanding current political and security situation in Rivers State in particular and Niger Delta region in general”.


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