Four Dead in Rivers, As APC Alleges Killers Target Members

No fewer than four persons were, weekend, killed at Eleme and Okrika in Rivers State.

Vanguard gathered that two of the deceased were shot dead in Okrika Local Government Area, while two others were killed at Eleme by unknown gunmen.

The incident at Eleme, sources said, was due to a clash between two rival cult groups.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in a statement yesterday alleged that its members were still being assassinated in the state by suspected political thugs.

Director of Communications of the party’s governorship campaign platform, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, who issued the statement, wondered why members of the party were still being allegedly assassinated.

She said: “If they killed APC members on election days, why have they continued to kill after the polls? The unabated killings of APC members in Rivers State raise concerns.

“We are afraid that killers and sundry criminals have been imposed on the state and if we are right, then worse days lay ahead for our people.

“Since the discredited governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State, killers have swarmed on Ahoada East, hitting down their targets. Recently, Messrs Chigba Apollos and Chiezule German, both members of APC in the area were shot dead in Ibarikpo town by unknown gunmen. Ibarikpo is in Ahoada East Ward 13.

“In similar bizarre manner, Thursday last week, Mr. Saturday Wakama was killed and his corpse carried away. Wakama, a popular APC member in Okrika, was a member of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, and had championed campaigns for a riverine governor in Rivers State.

“This is an indictment on the agencies of state saddled with the responsibility of tackling law breakers. An arrest and prosecution will send strong warning to these outlaws and possibly stem the tide of growing murder of APC members in Rivers State.”

At press time, Police had yet to respond to a text message for comment on the incidents.