Abuloma’s Fierce Street Battle; Odagwa’s Unending Military Raids

● How three persons allegedly gave up the ghost in Abuloma; how Odagwa’s exposure to illegal bunkering invites the military

By PHC Telegraph

An unexpected clash which took place Saturday evening around Abuloma in the Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State may have sent shivers down the spines of residents in that axis of the State capital, calm has however returned after the violent incident which created panic.

The incident occurred just as the people of Odagwa in Etche who scampered away from their homes when security personnel raided illegal bunkering sites in their community from the air were returning  to their homes.

Sources say the shooting at Odagwa was more intense than what residents shocked by the eruption of gunfire observed in Abuloma.

Fight On The Street: 

Many who were outside the neighbourhood at the time the fighting on the street began stayed away as guns barked.

Some of them who were not at home when it all started had received phone calls from friends and relatives warning them to remain where they were.

One of them, a lady who spoke to our reporter narrated how she received a phone call.

“I was told to stay where I went until normalcy returns”, she explained, saying until her phone rang she had “no idea of what was going on.”

Outside, on the streets, the battle raged on as armed youths slugged it out, the nuzzles of their guns blazing.

So far, the identities of those engaged in the street fight in Port Harcourt which sent many residents in that part of town running for cover have not been revealed.

But there are two accounts, going by what we have gathered from people resident in the area which could have led to the bloody clash.

One account reveals that the shooting took place following disagreements between two factions of the Ijaw Youth Congress, IYC, over a representative position that is in dispute.

Another account however, heaped the blame for Saturday’s late evening shooting on the activities of cult groups in the area.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to a Correspondent of the Port Harcourt Telegraph disclosed that a number of persons reportedly lost their lives during the bloody encounter.

One source told this publication, “at least three people died during the shoot out that confined residents to their homes. We heard later that it was the IYC.”

Said another source who spoke under conditions of anonymity, “Saturday’s shooting had all the trappings of a deadly cult clash. When such groups clash, it is usually over territorial control.”

Governor Siminalayi Fubara has since his arrival on the stage worked tirelessly to maintain law and order as part of efforts to guarantee peace and stability in the State.

Operation Odagwa Not Over:

Meanwhile, the people of Odagwa community in the Etche Local Government Area have been running helter-skelter.

Their community is gradually turning into an oil bunkering haven.

As a result security operatives despatched to the Niger Delta to stamp out the menace are working round the clock to rid the area of illegal bunkering activities.

Last week’s operation will not be the first. There have been previous raids. This has not deterred the oil thieves whose actions have made it difficult for Nigeria to meet its delivery quota.

Local people say that in the last three days the military has used low-flying gunboats to target illegal refining sites that are owned by oil thieves.

A frightened villager said when asked about the situation, “I have never seen a helicopter motionless in the sky. One choper hung in the air over my house for what looked like eternity while shooting at bunkering targets on the ground.

“We could clearly hear the sound of gunfire all around us the shooting lasted. An ogogoro refining outfit which depends on raffia palm that is owned by an Ogoni was also destroyed during the raid.”

We have not been able to confirm if illegal bunkerers in the community are armed. Our sources say the military is determined to cleanse communities under its command of oil theft.

We have learnt through impeccable sources that chiefs and prominent elders of the Odagwa community have been holding meetings with youths to see how they can stem the oil stealing tendency that  is forcing oil majors to sell off some of their assets