Rivers cult wars: Governor suspends chairmen in 4 troubled LGAs

With inter-cult wars unabated in four deeply troubled local government areas of Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike has wielded the big stick for the first time – suspending the caretaker committee chairmen of the LGAs.

The LGAs are Abua/Odual, Ahoada East and Ahoada West, for “failing to mobilise their stakeholders to attend a special security town hall meeting for Orashi region.”

Addressing thousands of people at Omoku on Monday, during a special security town hall meeting, Wike said the meeting, which had in attendance security service commanders and the state commissioner of police, was aimed at restoring peace to Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA), Abua/Odual, Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local Government areas of the state.

The governor said the insecurity in the four local government areas had nothing to do with politics, pointing out that it was a move to stem the tide of cult-related killings and kidnapping, armed robbery and communal clashes in the other three local government areas.

With respective to this, the governor directed security agencies to clampdown on cult activities and violent crimes in the four affected local government areas.

He said, henceforth, security agencies had been mandated to take appropriate actions against those who shield cultists, kidnappers and armed robbers in the four local government areas, stressing that “nobody will be allowed to stop the development programmes of the state government on account of insecurity.”

He also charged traditional, political and religious leaders to work with the state government and security agencies to identify the criminals, for the purpose of restoration of peace.

“Nobody is happy. I am not happy. The service commanders are not happy. These cultists and criminals are not from Lagos, Kaduna or Ebonyi. They are indigenes of these communities, and the people know them. Therefore, everyone must cooperate with the security agencies to resolve these security challenges,” Wike said.

He reiterated that operations of commercial motorcyclists in the four local government areas remained banned between5.pm and 8am daily, adding, “We must put an end to the ugly situation in these four local government areas. We cannot allow these criminals to kill innocent people.”