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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
There was pandemonium in Ibaa community in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, as gunmen suspected to be factional members of the disbanded local vigilance group, OSPAC, shot dead four members of a rival group in the wee hours of Friday.
A native of the community, who craved anonymity, attributed the killing to a battle of supremacy between the factional OSPAC groups.
The community source claimed that the disbanded OSPAC factions have been flexing muscles over who controls the collection of illegal levies known as ‘matching ground.’
According to the source, members of the local vigilance group are dreaded unrepentant cultists whose nefarious activities in Ibaa community and its environs, have posed a serious threat.
Report gathered by Saturday Sun, said some natives, fearing an escalation of the violence, had already fled the community as at 8am on Friday.
It would be recalled that two persons believed to be members of one of the factions of the disbanded OSPAC were killed in Ibaa in February, although the police disclosed that only a person was killed.
Rivers State Police Command had yet to comment on the killing at the time of filing the report.
