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Residents of the Ekurhode Urhobo community in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State have been gripped by fear following the killing of Akpobi Obehrirhi Romeo, son of a late prominent politician and chieftain of a political party in Nigeria.
Community members said the incident has created panic in the area, with many expressing concerns over safety and rising insecurity.
Romeo was reportedly trailed and allegedly attacked by a local gang known as the “London Oppi boys” in what sources described as an unprovoked assault.
He was killed on December 10, 2023. The incident has since heightened anxiety among residents, who are calling for improved security presence and a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack.
Sources close to the family revealed that the killing followed weeks of surveillance on the deceased man by the gang members. The latest incident has inadvertently, heightened fears of politically linked violences in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta State, where notorious cult groups and criminal networks often clash.
Information gathered also, revealed that Romeo’s father, Akpobi Obehrirhi, was once a National Deputy Secretary of PDP, before his death.
He narrowly escaped an armed invasion at his Oviore residence, Warri in May 2016, when attackers fled after residents identified some of their members.
Meanwhile, the pattern of threats by the same gang, extends beyond the family. A family friend by name, Austine Gabriel recounted his own run-ins with the same group. He said he is a family friend residing in Lagos, and that he was trailed and attacked sometime in January 2024, by the same cult group in Arepo area of Ogun State on his way to work, and he was hospitalized for a period of time.
Similarly in March 2024, he was also attacked again in the Arepo area in Ogun state where he lives in a bid to forcibly recruit him to be part of the killer gang. “I survived that plot because neighbors rushed out and shouted while they all fled,” Gabriel told newsmen, adding that he has lived in fear ever since.
The situation as reported, has made residents in that community talk in low tones, causing anxiety across neighborhoods. “The whole trouble looks like a targeted attack,” said another resident, while maintaining anonymity.
The recurring issues have also heightened security personnel monitoring of criminal networks in that community. It was also confirmed that the police have not relented in serious pursuant of the dangerous cult gang, according to a local source. However, no official arrest tied to Romeo’s death has been confirmed.
Recall that security experts in the past, has made reference to Delta’s history of cult rivalries and gang reprisal attacks tied to politically motivated, as key drivers. In the same vein, community leaders have also clamoured for more patrols, intelligence gathering and reports as a way of curtailing the violence while also engaging the youth in empowerment programs to tame the situation.
In the meantime, as efforts to bring the situation to the barest minimum by the security operations is ongoing, the troubled residents in the community have called on State and Federal authorities to expedite actions and restore the much eluded peace in the land.
