Gunmen killed four, abduct 30 passengers in Rivers

Four persons are feared dead in Iriebe Community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State after gunmen attacked them, and created panic and fear among residents.


The attack happened after a clash between the Hausa community and the Akwa/ Ibom people living in the area.


The youth President of Iriebe community, David Eleto, who condemned the killing called on the relevant authorities to intervene urgently to prevent a total breakdown of law and order in the area.


He, however, said that the heavy presence of police personnel in the area helped quell the crisis, adding that two unidentified gunmen were killed in a gunfight with the police in the area. He said that the police stormed the community after they were contacted that some gunmen had invaded the town and were attacking some residents with machetes. In a related development, gunmen killed the driver of a Coaster bus carrying passengers along the Emohua axis of the East West Road for refusing to open the doors when stopped.




After shooting the driver, the gunmen seized the 30 passengers on the bus and forced them into the bush. Another source in the area said, the driver of the Coastal bus was shot dead after he denied the kidnappers access into the vehicle, as he allegedly pressed the lock of the bus.


The Coaster bus was said to have left Port Harcourt and was heading to Abua Odual Local Council when the gunmen attacked it.


The gunmen also abducted a senior employee of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) after shooting a police escort/ driver identified as Corporal Peter Osagie. Osagie was reportedly shot dead after he prevented the kidnappers from abducting the Shell memeber of staff by pressing the lock of the bus.


A source said that the escort died on the spot, and that the vehicle of the Shell employee was attacked at the boundary between Rumuji and Evekwu axis of the East West Road near a police check point.


The abducted Shell member of staff was said to be returning from Bayelsa State to Port Harcourt, when the gunmen struck. When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the attacks, stressing that the police were trailing the hoodlums.