Gunmen kill 16 people in Rivers community

It was a black new year yesterday in Omoku, headquarters of Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, as gunmen suspected to be cultists killed about 16 people.

Our reporter learnt that over 26 people were shot in the attack and while 16 died on the spot, 10 sustained bullet wounds.

Community sources told our reporter that the gunmen had operated at two different locations of the community: Kirigani and Oboh axis of Aligwu, in a coordinated attack.

The source stated that the gunmen suspected to be working for an outlawed militant leader ambushed the victims as they were returning from crossover night church service from different churches around 12:25am.

The Rivers State Police Command described the incident as unfortunate, adding that the culprits would be fished out.

State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said Police were aware of the incident, but could not ascertain the number of casualties to journalists at the time of filing this report.

“I can confirm the incident but at the moment not the conflicting number of casualties. The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations and other tactical heads have been mobilised there to restore peace.

“The Commissioner of Police (Zaki Ahmed ), has launched a manhunt of the bandits to ensure they are arrested and prosecuted. When the DCP and the teams there conclude, we will know the total number of people involved,” Omoni stated.

Omoku had in recent times witnessed series of killings occasioned by cult related war.

The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army a couple of weeks ago invaded the residence of a cult leader where human skulls and catches of arms were recovered.