Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Ikuru Town, an oil producing community in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, has raised an alarm over the invasion of the town by armed men allegedly operating under the guise of the Onelga Security, Peace and Advisory Committee, OSPAC, calling on the Rivers State Government and security agencies to intervene urgently.
A statement signed by the Secretary of the Ikuru Town Community General Assembly, Priest Paul Amamino, the community accused the operatives of violating the peace and reconciliation agreement recently endorsed by all parties in a consent judgment.
The community called on Rivers State Administrator and Chief Security Officer, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adewole, to immediately investigate the invasion and restore peace and order in Ikuru Town.
“We feel compelled to voice our strong rejection and bring to public attention the recent and unwarranted intrusion of known and unknown armed cultists masquerading as OSPAC operatives in our peaceful community,” the statement read.
The invasion reportedly took place at the weekend when the armed men accompanied HRM King Dr. Aaron Miller Ikuru into the community, just days after a consent judgment was signed between the King and the community at the Rivers State High Court, Sakpenwa Division, under Hon. Justice Daketima Gabriel Kio.
“The reckless and irresponsible use of firearms is not only a grievous affront to security but a blatant violation of the recently signed peace and reconciliation agreement,” the community said.
According to the statement, the community has accepted the presence of Police officers and Naval outposts for the protection of lives and property but categorically rejects “notorious cultists disguised as OSPAC operatives, who seek to intimidate, terrorize, and falsely accuse our innocent youths and elders by branding them as enemies of the King.”
“The sight of these dreadful gun wielding men, in large numbers, led by one Mr. Destiny Ijah Minabelem, a known loyalist of Mr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya and Mr. Urombo Metong Bertram, has instilled an overwhelming atmosphere of fear and anxiety,” the statement alleged.
The operatives were accused of parading the community while “brandishing weapons, chanting ominous war songs, and conducting grotesque rituals marked by white cocks and unsettling fetishes.”
The statement condemned what it called an orchestrated plan by certain individuals to undermine peace in the community.
“It is clear that this onslaught is tied to the influence of Mr. Davies Ikanya and Mr. Urombo Bertram, who appear dissatisfied that the Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee led by Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ofik (rtd) has refused to heed their unreasonable demands,” it stated.
The community claimed those demands include allowing Davies to remain as Chairman of the Council of Chiefs, contrary to the community’s constitution, and retaining Metong Urombo as the community’s lawyer, despite his alleged disengagement over corruption allegations.
“We are peace-loving people and have refrained from retaliation, but we cannot continue to allow the presence of OSPAC, genuine or fake, to disrupt the fragile peace we are trying to rebuild,” the statement concluded.
