Three persons have been reportedly killed by Suspected cult groups in a supremacy power tussle in Opu-Nembe, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Our correspondent gathered that the clash which led to the killing of two persons in the community was carried between two rival groups.
The Youth President of Opu Nembe, Moses Ayerite, lost his aide in the gun battle.
The unidentified armed youths reportedly shot him and his girlfriend at his residence before they went into the community to shoot another person yet to be identified.
A community source alleged that some youths invaded the community and started shooting sporadically.
“He was in the company of his girlfriend and they were both killed. Another person was also shot dead. The home of the Opu-Nembe Youth President, Ayerite Moses was also attacked and vandalised,” the source said.”
Confirming the incident, the spokesman of the State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, confirmed that there was a clash between rival groups at Nembe Bassambiri on 15 February, 2023, at about 2200 hours; the casualty figure cannot be ascertained at the moment.
“We have deployed additional men to the community and normalcy has been restored,” he said.
Opu Nembe was a theatre of brutal killings in the build up to the Bayelsa 2019 governorship election.
Meanwhile, Bayelsa state elders council has condemned in strong terms the politically-motivated killings in Nembe Local Government Area of the State.
The Council in a press statement issued by Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (Rtd) Immediate-Past Deputy Governor
and Chairman, Bayelsa Elders Council observed with disappointment that the Peace Accord that was signed in the recent past by various political groups in Nembe to engender sustained peace, appears to be totally ignored.
The statement noted that, key political players and actors seem not to have dropped their old habits as they are still bent on continuing in their violent and destructive ways and tendencies to entrench themselves in power at all cost.
The Council, call on the State Government and the security agencies to fish out the criminal elements involved in the dastardly act and be made to face the full weight of the law.
“We, the elders of the State trust that decisive action shall be taken to maintain law and order to enable people vote candidates of their choice peacefully during the coming elections in all our communities in the State.
“The Council also wish to implore the Governor of the State, Senator Douye Diri to direct the traditional leadership in our communities to be more proactive in dealing with the issue of security in their domains.”
