3 dead as guns boom in Ogoni

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A man walks on slippery spilled crude oil on the shores and in the waters of the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in the famous Nigerian oil-producing Ogoniland. AFP

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

a man walks on slippery spilled crude oil on the shores and in the waters of the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in the famous Nigerian oil-producing Ogoniland. AFP
a man walks on slippery spilled crude oil on the shores and in the waters of the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in the famous Nigerian oil-producing Ogoniland. AFP

Gunshots were still being held in Yeghe, a community of Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers and community of ex-militant leader Solomon Ndigbara, alias Osama bin Laden on Tuesday morning where the military is currently carrying out an operation.

Three persons are alleged to have died after suspected cultists clashed with soldiers in Yeghe and Bori, the headquarters of Khana Local Government Area in Ogoniland.

Residents of the community on Monday fled their homes after a clash between soldiers and suspected cultists.

Eyewitnesses said the clash between the suspected cultists and the military led to sporadic shooting and the destruction of the Liaison office of Senator Magnus Abe, All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers South East Senatorial candidate in Bori, the headquarters of Khana Local Government Area.

Austin Sor, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Gokana Local Government Area, says three persons are feared dead following the clash between soldiers and suspected cultists and that the whole area is tense.

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Sor accused the military of invading the home of Ndigbara, burning the house and destroying his properties.

“As I speak with you, three persons have been confirmed dead and three persons are in the hospital. I am on my way to hospital for the treatment of a pregnant woman who, while running away from the shooting fell and it has been confirmed that she lost the unborn baby. I am going to the private hospital in Sogho where the doctors are to operate on her to evacuate the baby. The other three have been confirmed dead and have been taken to the mortuary,” Sor said.

The 2 Brigade Spokesman, Captain Eli Lazarus, has promised that the army will brief the Press on the development in some Ogoni communities.

Senator Abe has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state to have instigated the violence in Gokana LGA and Khana by the provocative speech he made against his candidacy in the rerun election where he urged Ogoni people not to vote for him and should do everything to stop him from going to the Senate.

Abe also alleged that Governor Wike had accused him of working against his administration so that a state of emergency would declared in the state.

On the burning of his liaison office in Bori, Abe said: “If that is one of the sacrifices I have to make for peace to reign in Ogoni and the state, I am prepared to make. But those who are perpetrating impunity should be held accountable”.

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