CULTISM: 19 people feared dead in Aluu community

Nineteen people were killed by gunmen suspected to be cultist in Aluu community in Ikwerre Local Government Area and Obite community in Etche council area of Rivers state.

The Punch reports that two rival cult groups invaded the communities on Saturday, June 4, and engaged each other in a free-for-all.

The gunmen, believed to be of members of Greenlanders cult, invaded Aluu in reprisal against a rival group, Icelanders and killed 15 people, including a nursing mother.

Also killed was a naval officer, who was among the Joint Task Force team that went to the area to bring the situation under control.

The gunmen reportedly killed several people in Omuoda village and four others suspected to be cultists in Omuahunwo village.

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “Some cult members believed to be members of Greenlanders entered the community and killed some people. The boys operated in a very terrible manner. They went to a supermarket where people usually go to buy something and opened fire on over six people. Some people narrowly escaped with gun wounds. We do not know the cause of the killings, although we suspected that it is a cult war.”

Four people suspected to be members of the Greenlanders were allegedly killed by the Icelanders in Obite.

An anonymous source said: “At the moment, people are running away and nobody knows who is who. The cult boys entered the community by 8am and started shooting the people they described as their enemies.

“The Icelanders boys were the ones that shot the Degbam boys, but the fear now is that the Degbam cult group has written a letter to the community, asking the residents to flee because they are going to revenge.”

Some people in the affected communities are said to have fled their homes as a result of the incident.

When contacted, the caretaker chairman of Ikwerre LGA, Samuel Nwanosike, stated that the normalcy had been restored in the area, adding that reports about the incident were overblown.

He said some of the hoodlums responsible for the unrest have been arrested by security operatives.

When contacted, the state assistant public relations officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she was yet to be briefed about the incident.

Gunmen attacks in Rivers state has become a source of worry to the government. On Saturday, June 4, report surfaced that a bus driver and six persons on a journey from Buguma to Port Harcourt were attacked by unknown gunmen.

Last month, five police officers were said to have gone missing during an ambush by some gunmen in Okujagu community, Okrika local government area of Rivers state.