Police Keep An Eye Over Umuala After A Fiery Clash Sets Stage For Violence

By PHC Telegraph

A contingent of policemen are currently stationed at Umuala, a community in Ulakwo within the Ulakwo/Umuselem clan in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State where an unrest has been reported. 

According to information, guns were fired as tension mounted and tempers rose among members of two families within the troubled community.

Although details pertaining to the clash which turned violent are not yet known, we have gathered through local sources that trouble allegedly started when two young men from different families in the Umuala community disagreed in the open.

Thereafter, a fight ensued between a man whose name was given as “Zico” and another. Apparently, Zico allegedly had the upperhand and reportedly beat his opponent to stupor.

While one account claims that the victim died as a result of injuries he sustained in course of the fight, another account said Zico’s opponent fainted.

Nonetheless, the tension generated by the clash and the fear that someone had died in Umuala led to sharp reactions.

A house or two, including Zico’s home, were purportedly torched as he escaped to a neighbouring community where he sought refuge.

People in the community who spoke to our man who is based at Odagwa say they scurried away from harm’s way as guns boomed, but they added that nobody was killed.

A Telegraph correspondent who passed through the community on his way from an assignment in Enugu reports that calm appears to have returned to the village.

He says that at least two police vans were seen parked Friday afternoon at a strategic point in the community, with police men drafted to the area doing everything in their power to keep the peace.

We cannot confirm if there have been any arrests, but most males in times like this escape into nearby bushes during the day to evade police arrest.