Posted by The Port Harcourt Telegraph on
There have been fighting between members of an outfit that specializes in illegal bunkering activities and youths drawn from two communities in the Abua speaking areas of Rivers State.
There have been fighting between members of an outfit that specializes in illegal bunkering activities and youths drawn from two communities in the Abua speaking areas of Rivers State.
Although there has been no confirmation of the number of dead persons, property belonging to the people of Ejuelughan and Owerewere may have been badly destroyed, according to reports reaching our news desk..
Those reports say women and children as well as youths and able bodied men have all fled their homes out of fear of further reprisal attacks by members of the bunkering gang From what we have been able to put together after a caller in the area tipped us with the information, Emughan axis has become a new route used by illegal bunkerers who are reportedly stealing Nigerian oil.
Sources told this publication that members of the illegal bunkering team hail primarily from the Ijaw speaking areas.
Thus far, the Telegraph has not been able to confirm exactly what sparked off the fighting.
Our sources nonetheless point in the direction of differences between the illegal bunkerers and youths from Ejuelughan and Owerewere.
It is possible that the youths may have been bent on stopping the outsiders from using their area as a route to take crude out illegally.
In return, according to local sources, they got a carefully planned surprise.
The illegal bunkerers raided them, shooting out random at the local people with their sophisticated guns.
The shooting was still proof that there may still be more dangerous weapons in the Niger Delta in the hands of those who are not trained to carry them. A police source in Port Harcourt said the command had no knowledge of the Abua incident, with some sources insisting the police can't deny knowing what happened.