There was palpable tension in Odiemerenyi community in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State after unknown gunmen suspected to be cultists attacked the community in the early hours of Sunday killing five persons.
The assailants, it was gathered, killed four victims in the sleep, while one person was killed after confronting them.
A source in the community, who pleaded anonymity told Daily Independent that the gunmen attacked the community and threatened to sustain their onslaught against the community until their gang members and monarchs held by the Police were released.
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The source who identified the suspected cultists as cultists loyal to the dreaded General 2Baba, who was declared wanted by the Police for killing and beheading a senior Police officer, Bako Angbashim, DPO of Ahoada East Police Division, a month ago.
He revealed that the gunmen invaded the community around 1am and killed two of his brothers and another person in his compound, before moving elsewhere to kill other persons.
The source, identified three of the victims who were his relatives as Charles Osu Ogbobula Ejee, Eeje Idaowukwo.
He said, “These cultists are 2Baba and his group, this happened around past 1am this Sunday morning. We were all in the room when we head footsteps and one of my younger brother came out and shouted who are those people, they said they came to kill everybody.
“That if they don’t release the people in the police custody including the Chief that is with them and some of their sympathisers, that they are not going to stop killing everybody. Before my younger brother could finish pleading with them, they shot him down and broke down two doors in my house and also shot two of my brothers.
“They also went to another compound and shot one person. They went into the village and shot another person.”
He called on the government and security agencies to immediately intervene and avert further bloodshed in the community.
“We are tired of facing this thing, everyone is afraid, we don’t know what to do.
“Please let the government come and help us out to make sure that this stops because the action they came this morning, they said they will continue killing except those chiefs are released, they will continue killing people.
“That we are going to see more things that they are going to do. I am begging the government to put in more effort and set us free from this problem. We are in pains, all the families are crying.”
Our correspondent gathered that operatives of the Police in the area, intercepted the gunmen at the wake of the attack and killed two of the gunmen, the chief priest who coordinated the attack on the community and another.
The spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, who is yet to comment on the develoment, promised to react on the development when contacted by our correspondent, but had yet to do so when this report was filed.
