The Ijaw National Congress (INC) worldwide has condemned in strong terms the Sept.14 killings in Abuloma during the ljaw Youth Council elections.
This is contained in a statement by Chief Ezonebi Oyakemeagbegha, National Publicity Secretary, INC, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja on Monday.
Oyakemeagbegha described the killings as unwarranted, senseless and tragic.
According to him, Ijaws are not known to be violent in nature, particularly when what was involved, (elections) is supposed to be a family affair.
“Aside, it beats all reasonable imaginations that people who were supposed to be aspiring to serve the people turned around to massacre the same people in the most bestial manner.
“The INC calls for calm, while it expects the security agencies to do very thorough investigations and fish out the culprits.
“It is the belief of the INC that the full weight of the Law must be visited on any one found culpable.
The congress commiserates with the families of those who died tin this most unfortunate incident.”
NAN reports that the Rivers Police Command said it is aware of the senseless and sporadic shooting in the Abuloma area during the Ijaw Youth Council Central Zone elections”.
In a statement , the police said Commissioner of Police swiftly dispatched Tactical Teams to the scene, but the perpetrators had already escaped.”
The police further stated that the commissioner had ordered a full-scale crackdown to apprehend those responsible and bring them to justice.
“Normalcy has returned to the area, and law-abiding citizens are encouraged to continue their daily activities,” the statement added, urging residents to report any suspicious activity to the police.
When asked about the alleged casualties, Iringe-Koko said the command had not yet received confirmation, adding that investigations were ongoing. (NAN)