Rivers
Suspected Cultists Invade Community, Kill Four
At least four persons have
lost their lives when gunmen suspected to be cultists invaded Dema and adjoining communities in Andoni Local Government Area of the State in what is believed to be a rival clash.
This is coming about two weeks after a leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta known as Etengo was reportedly killed by some cultists in the area.
In a separate development, the state Police Command said its operatives shot and killed two suspected cultists after the miscreants engaged the police team in a gun battle.
The gunmen were said to have stormed the communities in about 10 speed boats, shooting sporadically, leaving four persons dead, even as some locals identified the invaders as Icelanders cult group.
An eyewitness from the area said residents scampered for safety during the heavy shooting in some communities in the area by the hoodlums.
“This morning, we heard some sounds of guns. They were shooting at Ajakajak, Samanga, Iboitrem and Dema. Everybody is running helter-skelter and there are no security personnel here. They came with about 10 speed boats loaded with ammunition.
“So, I am asking the government to come to our aid by sending security personnel. People are dying and many running all over and hiding,” the source stated.
Another resident, who pleaded anonymity, said about four persons, two women and two young men lost their lives, saying none of the dead victims were involved in the cult clash.
“What we are recording now is four; two women and two boys. They were not involved in any cult issue; they came with about 10 speed boats, shooting from morning till around 10 pm,” he stated.
Reacting to the Andoni attacks, the spokesman for the state Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, said its operatives and men of the Nigerian Navy had been deployed to restore normalcy.
He stated that the cultists were usually going after their targets and not innocent people, adding that measures had been put in place to ensure peace returned to Ogoni communities.
Meanwhile, no fewer than three persons were confirmed dead, while one was arrested during a fresh clash between two rival cult groups around the railway axis of Diobu in Port Harcourt, last Thursday.
The dead victims were believed to be members of cult groups.
Confirming the incident in a statement, spokesman for the state Police Command, Omoni, said operatives moved in to quell the situation and found the dead cult members, while others fled on sighting police vehicle.
Omoni’s statement read in part, “On the receipt of the distress, Operatives of the Diobu Division mobilised massively to the scene but unfortunately, on arrival, the cultists had taken to flight. They, however, were able to arrest one of them alive, while three lifeless bodies were at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds on their bodies.”
Rivers
Police Investigate Officer’s Suicide In PH
The Police Command in Rivers State has confirmed the commencement of an investigation into the death of a police officer who allegedly took his own life in Port Harcourt.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Port Harcourt.
“We received a report about an officer who allegedly killed himself.
“However, we are currently investigating the report to ascertain what transpired”, she stated.
Iringe-Koko reported that the Commissioner of Police in the Sstate, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, directed that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) for a thorough investigation.
According to viral reports Monday, Insp. Maxwell Zabu, formerly a security detail to Victor Ihunwo, a former Chairman of Port Harcourt City Council, allegedly shot himself at Ihunwo’s residence in Eagle Island, Port Harcourt.
A source familiar with the incident said the matter was reported to the Azikiwe Police Division in the area.
“Following the report, detectives from the division visited the scene as part of preliminary investigation procedures”, the source added.
Rivers
Perm Sec Tasks NUJ Leadership On Unity
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, Rivers State, Mr. Emmanuel Ndah, has charged the leadership of the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to ensure that all factions of the union are collapsed, especially now that the election is over.
Ndah gave the charge when the newly elected executives of the council and some of its members led by the Chairman, Comrade Paul Bazia, paid him a courtesy visit in his office at the State Secretariat Complex, Port Harcourt, yesterday.
The Permanent Secretary said he will do everything within his reach to ensure that the union is put in the front burner as far as their demands are achievable within the directives of the Sole Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd).
He also promised to ensure that the demands of the union get to the appropriate quarters.
According to him, the effort of the State Sole Administrator is to carry out programmes that can be achieved in six months and urged the NUJ to make demands that can be achieved within the period.
“The (Sole) Administrator has put so much effort to not only carry out achievable programmes, but also ensure peace and security in the State”, he said.
He, therefore,instructed the new executives to carry every member of the union along in the scheme of things.
“After the election, the union is now one. Carry everybody along so that the union will move forward”, he said.
The Chairman of NUJ, Bazia, had earlier assured the Permanent Secretary that the new executive was ready to work with the government to change the negative narratives and move the State forward.
Bazia further emphasised that the union will ensure factual reportage that will bring about the development of the State.
He also said the essence of the visit was to introduce the new executives to their host and lamented the deplorable condition of the NUJ Secretariat and urged the Permanent Secretary to help push the demands of the union to the state government, while highlighting some of the challenges faced in the Council.
“In terms of mobility, we have no vehicle, the one we have is in a bad shape. Most of the facilities are bad, so we need you to help push our issues to the Administrator pending when our Governor will be restored”, he said.
He thanked the Permanent Secretary for receiving members of the union within a short notice.
King Onunwor
Rivers
Rivers Judiciary Denies Reports On SOLAD’s Sack
The Rivers State Judiciary has denied claims of media reports online that a judge of its High Court issued a ruling in favour of Governor Siminalayi Fubara against former Governor Nyesom Wike and President Bola Tinubu allegedly sacking the Sole Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd).
A statement signed by the Chief Registrar of the State High Court, David Ihua-Maduenyi, on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, described the purported report as false and misleading, particularly for linking a judge of the State High Court, Justice Boma Diepiri, to a ruling that reportedly came from a Federal High Court.
According to the statement, Justice Diepiri is a Judge of the Rivers State High Court and not of the Federal High Court and currently on Easter vacation, which commenced on Monday, 14th April.
The Chief Registrar further clarified that the Federal High Court and the State High Court are separate entities, stressing that “the inclusion of Justice Diepiri’s name in the fabricated report underscores the crass ignorance of the author”.
The statement, signed by Ihua-Maduenyi, reads in part, “The attention of the Rivers State Judiciary has been drawn to a fake news report alleging that His Lordship, Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri, delivered a judgment sacking the Sole Administrator of Rivers State. This is false in its entirety.
“Justice Diepiri is a judge of the High Court of Rivers State, not of the Federal High Court as was falsely reported.
“Additionally, His Lordship is currently on Easter vacation which began on Monday, April 14, 2025”.
It advised the general public and members of the media to always cross checked information concerning the judiciary before publishing, and disregard the said report in its entirety, saying “its an embodiment of falsehood and fabricated story”.
Akujobi Amadi
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