Gunmen disrupt funeral in Rivers state, hijack corpse

It was a double tragedy on Friday for a family in Ochigba community in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State as a group of gunmen shot and killed a young man after seizing the corpse of his mother.

The incident, which happened in the community, caused serious panic among indigenes of the area and visitors, who came to witness the funeral of the woman.

The corpse was being taken home from the mortuary in an ambulance before it was hijacked by the gunmen, who were clad in white robes and armed with AK-47 rifles.

A source, who pleaded anonymity, explained that the incident was cult-related as the hoodlums forced the coffins carrying the remains of the woman out of the ambulance before taking it into the bush.


The driver of the ambulance, according to the source, was ordered by the gunmen to leave the scene with his vehicle, a directive he (driver) immediately obeyed.

It was learnt that the son of the deceased identified as Emmanuel had moved in to see how the remains of his mother could be released by the gunmen.

The source disclosed that the move became fatal as Emmanuel was shot dead before the corpse of his mother was eventually released.

The young man’s corpse was said to have been dragged into the bush by the gunmen suspected to be members of a deadly cult group.

“He (Emmanuel) was earlier told not to come to the village for his mother’s burial,” the source told our correspondent.

However, while arrangements for the burial of Emmanuel’s mother were ongoing in a church in the community, the congregation quickly dispersed after a rumour became rife that that the gunmen were coming to disrupt the funeral.

It was gathered that few indigenes in the community later came together and hurriedly interred the remains of the deceased woman.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, said he was not aware of the incident, but promised to confirm from the Divisional Police Officer in the area.