Posted by FROM: WILLIE ETIM (YENAGOA) on
THE protracted conflict between the Odiama people in Brass Local government Area and the sister community of Bassambiri, in Nembe Council, all in Bayelsa State may have resulted in the death of 10 persons on Thursday, including four serving councillors.
THE protracted conflict between the Odiama people in Brass Local government Area and the sister community of Bassambiri, in Nembe Council, all in Bayelsa State may have resulted in the death of 10 persons on Thursday, including four serving councillors.
The deceased persons, who were alleged to have been ambushed and killed by unknown gunmen along the Nembe Creek in the late hours of Thursday, were said to be coming back from a peace mission.
The Guardian gathered that the victims were on their way to Obioku Community in the Nembe Council Area after a peace meeting that took place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Yenagoa, the capital city of the state, at the instance of the chairman of Brass Local Government Area, Mr. Nathaniel Sylva, over the disputed area between the two communities.
The Guardian also gathered that Bassambiri and Odiama communities were claiming ownership of the parcel of land where Obioku, is located.
The agitation was said to have come to the fore when Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) began to drill an oil well there.
According to reports, the victims were attacked at the Akanaga-Bugo, a fishing settlement and were taken to the Kula axis of the Atlantic Ocean.
As at the time of filing in this report, it was confirmed that about three of the reported ten bodies have been recovered while search for the other bodies was still on.
The Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Oliver Osuchukwu, who confirmed the incident to The Guardian, said that the men of the command had been sent to the area since last week because of the mounting tension there. He also said that there was a woman among the victims.