Posted by The Port Harcourt Telegraph on
The devil might have again directed his monstrous face towards Zaakpon community in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, bringing upon the people instant disunity and destruction to both lives and property.
The devil might have again directed his monstrous face towards Zaakpon community in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, bringing upon the people instant disunity and destruction to both lives and property.
We can authoritatively reveal here that except very urgent steps are adopted, doom days that could last longer with extensive negative consequences would soon envelop the place.
At press time, two indigenes of the community have been dispatched to their early graves in two separate incidents involving gruesome murder.
The victims, as gathered by our reporter, are Chief Friday K.D. Nwigbarato (a former leader of the community) and an un-named welder aged about years.
Details of the dastard acts were still sketchy when Telegraph visited the area on Monday (March 28), but our usually dependable sources confirmed that the welder was shot dead in the afternoon of Sunday, March 20, while Chief Nwigbarato was attacked and murder in his house at about 6am on Saturday, March 27. That is, seven days after the first tragedy.
Analysts observed that the two dastard incidents which happened almost one week apart, suggest that crime experts may not have two much burden on hand to knit possible clues to their source.
A very tangible source in Zaakpon confided in this paper that there is what looks like a lingering chieftaincy disagreement in the community, dating back to about 10 years today.
We learnt that sometime in February this year, one Chief Leton Teeban (Chief of Dorgbam village in Bua-Zaakpon) suddenly took ill and died soon after. His body, the source explained, was deposited in the mortuary to enable relations time to plan the burial arrangements. He belonged to one of the chieftaincy factions.
However, on that fateful Sunday, of March 20, this year, the young welder who was a son to the late Leton Teeban was killed by gunmen while attending a meeting convened to discuss the burial ceremony of his deceased father.
Expectedly, the meeting ended abruptly as survivors scrambled for dear life while the atmosphere because charged again for rivalry and insecurity.
Six days later, Chief Nwigbarato became the next victim of what someone called a "mad adventure among children of the same home" following his murder last Saturday.
The police in Bori, headquarters of the LGA were not forthcoming for comments on the incidents, but an insider said investigation have begun.
My sources could not, however, relate the tragic developments to the chieftaincy palaver which, another source said, had been settled months ago before the current killings.
We reliably understood that respected sons of the community like chief Korsi Tigidam and king David Adamgbo, were contenders to the stool but are not known to possess such barbaric and primitive urge to eliminate an opponent for a mere village chieftaincy stool considering their level of public image.
All attempts to reach the principal actors in the dispute for comments on the latest actions in Zaakpon did not materialize.
How long the Zaakpon crisis would take to abate is any one's guess.
When it looks like peace has been achieved, Zaakpon explodes in an orgy of violence.
Now, the killing has returned.