From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Ikuru Town, an oil-producing community in Andoni Local Government Area, Rivers State, has raised the alarm over an alleged intrusion of the town by men claiming to be operatives of the Onelga Security, Peace and Advisory Committee (OSPAC).
The community has urged the Rivers State Government and security agencies to intervene urgently.
In a statement signed by the Secretary of the Ikuru Town Community General Assembly, Priest Paul Amamino, the community accused the operatives of violating a peace and reconciliation agreement recently endorsed by all parties through a consent judgement.
The community called on the Rivers State Sole Administrator and Chief Security Officer, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekong Ibaso (retd.), and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, to immediately investigate the intrusion and restore peace and order in the Ikuru Town community.
“We feel compelled to voice our strong objection and bring to public attention the recent and unwarranted intrusion of known and unknown armed cultists masquerading as OSPAC operatives into our peaceful community,” read the statement said.
The intrusion reportedly took place at over the weekend, when the armed men accompanied a traditional ruler into the community, just days after a consent judgement was signed between the King and the community at the Rivers State High Court, Saakpenwa Division in the state, under Hon. Justice Honourable Justice Daketima Gabriel Kio.
The community stated: “The reckless and offensive use of firearms is not only a grievous affront to our security but also a blatant violation of our recently signed peace and reconciliation agreement.”
According to the statement, the community has accepted the presence of police officers and naval outposts for the protection of lives and property but categorically rejects “notorious cultists disguised as OSPAC operatives, who seek to intimidate, terrorise, and falsely accuse our innocent youths and elders by branding them as enemies of the King.”
“The sight of these dreadful gun-wielding men, in large numbers, has instilled an overwhelming atmosphere of fear and anxiety,” the statement alleged.
The operatives were accused of parading through the community while “brandishing weapons, chanting ominous war songs, and conducting grotesque rituals marked by white cocks and unsettling fetishes.”
The statement condemned what it called an orchestrated plan by certain individuals to undermine peace in the community.
“We are peace-loving people and have refrained from retaliation. But, we cannot continue to allow the presence of OSPAC, genuine or fake, to disrupt the fragile peace we are trying to rebuild,” the statement concluded.