A terror gang has emerged in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, striking terror into the community, setting up what looks like a parallel “government” in the largest local council area of the oil-rich state.
Journalists from Lagos and Abuja, who launched a week investigation in response to several news reports about violence clashes in Etche in recent times, found that the people of the area now call it “Rivers’ Boko Haram”, just to capture the semblance of operation and the magnitude of damage and terror unleashed on the people.
It was further gathered that the police seem helpless at the new turn of violence in the area and that if urgent action is not taken, the gang may transform to haunt the nation just like the Boko Haram in the North East.
At the moment, the terror group which has nucleus from cult cells in Etche has now broken into rival gangs along old cult rivalries and in line with the political polarisation in the state. One gang (De Gbam) is now headquartered in Obibi community, while the other (De Well) has set up its own camp at Igbodo.
Last week, an attack took place at Obibi where four persons were said to have been killed while several others sustained gunshot injuries. A source at the local council secretariat at Okehi said there has been ceaseless tension in the area and that workers have stayed back in other towns to get clearance before setting foot at Okehi for duty.
To understand the terrain and the route to the ‘conquered’ territory, newsmen took a trip from Port Harcourt (Obio/Akpor council section) to Iguruta (Ikwerre Local Council) to Chokocho, the first town in Etche from the Garden City axis. A reporter took a motorcycle ride across the river to Okomoko (where there is a police post) and continued to Egwi, Ulakwo and Akwukabi towns. The entire area was seized with tension.
From there, the journey took the reporter to Okehi, the council headquarters which was recently invaded by the terror gang where vehicles belonging to Etche Local Government Authority were seized by the gangsters.
From Okehi, the route of violence continued to Igbodo where there is the biggest market in Rivers State (Eketa Igbodo) which before now attracted traders from as far away as Onitsha, Owerri, Aba, Port Harcourt, Umuahia, Uyo, etc, for foodstuff and other commodities. It is the area regarded as the food basket of Rivers State. The market is now a shadow of itself with empty stalls and dejected market authority members. The route leads to Amala in Ngor-Okpala Local Council Area of Imo State and to Ntu where the investigation stopped.
It was gathered that traders from Imo and Abia states did not come to Eketa Igbodo penultimate Wednesday for fear of open attack and robbery. Incidentally, that day was very bloody at Obibi community, leading to the said death of four persons and several injuries. There had been weeks and months of open robbery, rape and brigandage. There was rape and robbery of a woman who just stepped into a nearby bush to ease herself in the market. It elicited angst and shouts of abomination from onlookers.
The height of the criminal impunity was the invasion of the local government secretariat where three buses were carried off. Soon, the gangs deployed the buses for their use in further raids and other nefarious operations.
The cause:
BD SUNDAY gathered that the two cult gangs had existed for years but usually come alive each time party primaries begin. They also become very active during elections because they decided where the votes went. This had died down in recent years due to the collapse of the crime empire in the state and the mopping up of criminal elements by the Federal Government’s Amnesty programme. Now, as violent political polarisation rears up in the state, the sleeping dog seems to be awake again, especially in Etche.
Villagers believe that politicians built their defences around two former rival cult gangs; De Gbam and De Well, which gained prominence in Diobu, Abonnema Wharf and Okrika areas of the state during the Peter Odili days. Their frequent confrontations and bloodshed over supremacy rights led to the famous gang wars on land and in the creeks between the Soboma George and the Ateke Tom forces. Asari Dokubo said he had joined the fray to stop the cultists. Soboma is dead, but Ateke is now an ex-militant warlord, enjoying a quiet life and the fruit of Amnesty.
The last time the boys were arrested, their political godfathers put calls through to the police that the arrest was politically motivated by the LG caretaker chairman. The boys, who had pistols, now wield Pump Action Guns (PAGs) and chase away those that pointed them. They have now acquired an aura of invincibility, attracting more young men.
The present confrontation revolves around one leading political family where father is set against the son. The father has pitched camp with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) while the son remains rooted in the All Progressives Congress (APC). Other political bigwigs in the area have fallen behind one or the other. The father recently announced the endorsement of a serving minister as governorship arrowhead of the PDP, an action that kicked up huge dust, while the son allegedly eyed appointment as caretaker chairman of the council. When another person was announced, one of the gangs angrily invaded the council secretariat at Okehi and carted away three vehicles.
Community sources stated that the gangs deployed the vehicles for their operations as if they were a government. The gang leaders had told the scared workers that they worked for the outgoing local council boss but were not paid, hence the impoundment of the vehicles. The villagers believe strongly that the state governor denounced the action of the ambitious son/aspiring caretaker boss and that he ordered the ‘boys’ to return the vehicles. This was done.
A reporter, who rode on a bike from Eketa Igbodo through the Elelem Road (off major road) to Ngor Okpala, was shown the camp/hideout by the right hand side of the Elelem Road.
It was also gathered that the gang acquired the camp when a boy in the compound there, believed to be a rival, was killed when the compound was attacked. Family members allegedly fled, only for the gang to now move in and settle there with more of their members.
Trail of deaths
Several incidents have been reported since the terror gangs set up their authority in Etche. A man whose father lives in the US set up a motor company but the terror gang killed him, striking fear into the community. The gangs now move about like Boko Haram men, slaughtering goats and chicken seen on the road, roasting and eating merrily in the open. More youths are joining, it was further gathered. A guide told BD SUNDAY thus: “If they see any beautiful woman, they commandeer her; else, she would be shot. It’s now like the civil war time.”
The latest is the story of a rich merchant from Nkwoala in Amala town of Ngor-Okpala LG of Imo State who was robbed and beaten mercilessly in the open at Eketa Igbodo last week. This made all traders to resolve never to go to the terrorist enclave, Igbodo, anymore. On Monday, September 29, 2014, a trader was shot and robbed at the now notorious market. A woman who deals in palm oil was stripped and robbed few kilometres after Igbodo town towards Amala.
Last week, four persons were killed in an attack, sending jitters to workers who stayed home most of the week. This week, another three persons were killed when the gangs clashed at a wake keep. It was gathered that a mere argument between two rival gangsters triggered blood and tears. There were attacks and counter attacks.
Life in the ‘captured territory’
The gangs have dubbed their activity as ‘The New Game’. It involves setting up a human warehouse and a bike warehouse. If a person is abducted, such a person is taken to the human warehouse as part of ‘The New Game’. If it is a motorbike, it is taken to the bike warehouse. The owners would have to contact a member of the gang and negotiate for buy-back (bikes) and bail out in the case of human.
Motorcycles sold by the gangs are used in the ‘captured territory’ (often to and fro the farms) without license. A villager warned a reporter not to dare pass that road again because of extreme danger.
Impact
The major casualty is the economy of Etche council area, an agrarian entity that feeds many states. The Eketa-Igbodo in Etche has whittled down to pockets of scared traders but the nearby Nkwoala Market (in Ama-ala, Imo State) is now overblown with activities. Traders from nearby states and towns now patronise Nkwoala Market for all kinds of commodities, especially vegetables, garri, cassava, domestic animals, etc. It now has three segments- morning session for foodstuff from farms and hamlets sold to dealers; afternoon retailers and livestock buyers, and evening session for general goods.
Police action
The last time SARS (special anti-robbery squad) attacked the gang, five of the hoodlums lost their lives. The army later took over the area and mounted roadblocks along the federal highway, but that has since ended. It’s just the way Charles Taylor started in the Nimba County in Liberia and Yesufu started in Maiduguri for Boko Haram. Several policemen who spoke off record admitted that things have got out of hand in the area and they fear that it might spread to other towns such as Ikwerre, Omuma, Elele and Emuoha.
Efforts to get the counter plan of the new commissioner of police, Dan Bature, proved abortive. A visit to the Moscow Road headquarters of the Rivers State police command could not yield any useful result because of the absence of Ahmed Muhammad, the police public relations officer (PPRO), and his female deputy.
However, when BD SUNDAY spoke with the PPRO recently on the situation in Etche, he had dismissed the crime wave by saying if any crime was reported in the area, the police would take action.
Ignatius Chukwu & Saby Elemba
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