Our lives are in danger Mgbuoshimini Community, Rumueme Kingdom cries out

By Ifeoma Ikem

The people of Mgbuoshimini Community, Rumueme Kingdom has petitioned the River State Commissioner of Police, Mr Emeka Nwoyi before the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Police Service Commission, National Human Rights Commission, accusing him of backing a wanted killer group leader that has endangered the lives members of the community.

In a petition signed by Mr Livingstone Wechie, Mr Ohazurume Chukwu on behalf of the community claimed that six other members of their community vigilante are still in custody of the police.

They said that their members who are in the police detention are Jeremiah Pardon Chukwu, Prince Uchechukwu Amadi, Ndubisi Sunny Amadi, Sunny Amadi, Friday Godwin and Gift Echem.

He said that in 2017 a group of killers led by one Daddy Chukwu a.k.a Oboni killed over 30 people in their community including on Chief Minikwu Chukwu, Godspower Aligbo and Omunakwe Benson in 2019.

“They were declared wanted by the Nigerian police under the then CP Kaki Ahmed now retired DIG operations.

“They later returned to Mgbuoshimini community and in an effort to secure our community, we set up a local vigilante called OSPAC’’.

The petitioners said that they had in April 2023, petitioned the Rivers State Police Command under CP Effiong Okon seeking his intervention.

“He swiftly set up a team led by the c4i Strike Force (octopus) and they carried out an operation and raided the camp of the wanted group in the community and assisted the vigilante.

“The camp was dislodged and the community returned to normalcy, but suddenly, the group recruited secret cult boys committing all manners of crimes including bunkering, killing, gun running etc.

“Their leader got information and escaped while some members of his group were arrested.

“Since then they’ve been following up on him while the vigilante has been working with the police to restore peace in the community, my brothers and I were on their hit list’’.

They claimed that immediately Nwoyi came on board, the wanted group through their sponsors initiated a fresh petition against the vigilante alleging murder and raped.

“A sister of the wanted persons went on radio to accuse the vigilante boys of raping her during an operation under the supervision of the police and her brother was killed in her presence and buried by the riverside in the camp.

`I had earlier explained to CP that the petition against us was aimed at misleading and misinforming him to distract him from the real issues.

“I appealed to him to sustain the gains of his predecessor CP Effiong Okon but he arrested six of the vigilante boys and I told him that the arrests will expose the community for another attacks by the wanted boys but he refused to heed.

“sadly, he warned me in the presence of his officers never to refer him to his predecessor and that he is the new CP that the old is past that he’s not interested in it.

“He said that he is not the one that asked us to kill ourselves and that that’s not his business.

He ordered the c4i strike force commander Jovinus Iwu to withdraw the charges from court against the people arrested during the operations.

“It’s obvious that CP Emeka Nwoyi was thoroughly compromised against us and his actions were unfair and unbecoming of a commissioner of police’’.

They claimed that Nwoyi invited them for a meeting last Monday along with the petitioners, he didn’t allow them (the vigilante) to speak saying he did not want to waste his time that he was very busy that the petitioners should speak so he could give directions.

“They listened to the other side and they raised issues of murder, rape and damage of property, the plan was to trump up charges of murder and rape and to remand us in detention but their plans were scuttled.

“Immediately the CP ordered for our arrests and detention by the x-squad who held us for a week from Monday to Saturday.

“We had initiated a petition to the IGP to transfer the matter to force headquarters and he referred it to the IRT led by DC Aliyu.

“In fact he sent his x-squad commander to stop reporting him to DIGs because some have called him on our behalf but it does appear that nwoyi is bent on justifying his inducement’’.

They claimed that it took the intervention of the AIG FIB who called him on their behalf to caution him against his high-handedness and unfairness towards them.

“On Friday July 7, 2023, the IRT team came to Port Harcourt to take over the case, when the signal got to the cp x-squad commander Mr Chris Anyanwu, called me out from the cell to his office for question.

“He said they have no evidence against me and my brothers over the allegations that the main point is more on the wanted boys and the petitioners.

“He said the allegations lacked proof that since the CP is not responding to bail that force headquarters is coming to take over the matter.

“We were taken into the custody of the IRT, from Abuja they said they had a little mistake of not reflecting c4i strike force as one of the stations to take suspects from which is where suspects from the April operations are being held’’.

“They said they will have to take custody of those suspects first before releasing us who are the complainants, they said they will be meeting with the Cp Nwoyi to minute on their signal to allow them move those suspects.

“Currently we are detained at the central police station in Port Harcourt by the IRT pending when they will resolve with the cp and take custody of the suspects at the c4i strike force octopu and that they may most likely move everybody to Abuja.

“It has been a very painful, embarrassing and frustrating experience, I had expected that we should be granted bail then asked to report to Abuja on a date.

“The team leader says it is actually their mandate from their commander to take over the matter and grant us bail then fix a date for interview in Abuja while they move the other suspects to Abuja.

“He said doing so requires their commander reaffirming that instruction because of this delay, the petitioners against us is one Larry Anele Nyeche who purports to lead a faction of Rumueme Kingdom Council of Chiefs in Rivers State.

`The matter has been transferred to the IGP-intelligence response team IGP-IRT in Abuja.

“`Parties have been invited to the IRT for an interview with the commander, the six ospac vigilante are still held at IRT custody in all cumulatively for forty days now.

“We demand their release and actions to bring the wanted killer group and their sponsors to justice.

“Our only offence is that we along with our brothers, Weli Gaddafi Nyeche, Ohazurume Chukwu approached the police to help rescue our community from the killer group led by one notorious Daddy Chukwu a.k.a Oboni a group affiliated to the notorious Don-Wani yet the Rivers CP is bent on destroying all the gains.