Gunmen ambush, murder
soldier, policeman in Rivers:
Army issues 7-day ultimatum
to produce killers

EMOHUA—MILITARY authorities in Rivers State
have given a one-week ultimatum to eight
communities in Emohua Local Government
Area of the state to fish out and surrender the
gunmen, who allegedly ambushed and shot
dead a soldier and police officer, while they
were on duty along the Emohua-Kalabari Road
in the area.
Niger Delta Voice gathered that the incident
occurred last week, and both the army and
police in the state were furious. A trustworthy
source hinted that the new Brigade
Commander in charge of Rumuokoro Army
Barracks in Port Harcourt stormed Emohua
with three vehicles, fully loaded with fierce-
looking military men and drove straight to the
palace of the paramount ruler of Emohua
Kingdom, HRM, Eze V.C. Okor.
The source said: “During the visit, the brigade
commander gave the eight communities of
Emohua one-week ultimatum to produce the
killers of the officers, otherwise the
communities will face the wrath of the
command.”
Apprehension
At the time of this report, a number of
residents had fled the kingdom. The
trepidation is what will happen to them if they
remain in the area after the one-week
ultimatum expired and the communities were
unable to surrender anybody to the security
agencies as the killers, having declined
knowledge of the gunmen. The Emohua
monarch distan-ced the communities from the
killers, but condemned the act.
When Niger Delta Voice visited the community
weekend, there was uneasy calm. But we saw
villagers going about their normal businesses
and there were no security personnel
intimidating anybody.
What Brigade Commander told me—Monarch
The royal father said that the brigade
commander in charge of Rumuokoro Army
Barracks in Port Harcourt visited his palace on
Monday and told him that the army discovered
corpses of two security personnel, along
Emohua-Kalabari Road.The monarch called on
the government to promptly intervene in the
matter and ensure that justice was no
breakdown of law and order.
A villager said: “The brigade commander told
our royal father that Emohua community
should produce the killers of the security
agents. “Okor told him that road is being used
by four local governments in the state and that
soldiers should carefully investigate to find out
the culprits. “He also told them that in their
investigation, they should secure the lives and
properties of Emohua people.”
Emergency meeting
The monarch told Niger Delta Voice: “When the
commander left, I called for a meeting. The
visit was shocking to me. So I passed on the
message that the commander brought. “In the
meeting, we appointed three people to go to
the Rumuokoro Barracks to see and pacify the
commander not to wage war against us in their
investigation.
“We have not had problems with any security
operative and we do not groom gunmen here.
So there is no way the community should be
robed into such crime.”
Our worry— Nyewe Eli Emohua
First son of the monarch, who is the Nyewe Eli
Emohua, Prince Chigozie Okor, confirmed that
the people were alarmed at the approach of
the military to the matter, saying it was wrong
for the army to have concluded that the killers
of the security personnel were from Emohua
simply because the unpleasant incident
happened in the area.
He said: “We do not understand the reason why
the soldiers will walked straight into our
community to demand that we provide the
gunmen who killed two of their men.
“The road where the officers were killed is a
major route to three other local government
areas in the state, namely Degema, Asari-Toru
and Akuku-Toru, why should they point finger
at Emohua? “They should carry out investigation
on the killing and bring the perpetrators to
justice; they should not involve civilians, who
do not have what it takes to carry out such
task.”
We’re in contact with parties—DPO
Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of
Rumuji Police Divisional Headquarters, who
spoke to Niger Delta Voice on phone, said: “The
issue was not officially reported to us. “I have
visited Emohua community. We discussed and
they have appointed people to see the
commander. We are in touch with the two
parties to ensure peace.”