Cults Clash Claims Seven Lives …As Andoni Residents Desert Community

Seven persons are now feared dead following an inter-cult clash between people suspected to be members of Icelanders and the movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) at Oyorokoto in the Andoni local Government Area of Rivers State.
Sources informed The Tide that apart from the seven persons, one more person has been reportedly declared missing while several others sustained various degrees of injuries.
The source said that the suspected MEND members invaded Oyorokoto from one of their camps in the area in the early hours of Saturday, and targeted members of the Icelanders which has its base at Oyorokoto.
The source further disclosed that the dead bodies were later brought to the community waterfront for their relatives to claim them for burial.
As at the time of filling this report, the densely populated Oyorokoto community has been deserted by its inhabitants who have fled to neighbouring communities for fear of reprisal attack by the Icelanders.
An inhabitant of Oyorokoto, who spoke under condition of anonymity in an interview with The Tide, said that apart from Oyorokoto, people in other neighbouring communities in Andoni now live in fear as the two groups had their members in all communities in the area.
While regretting that Oyorokoto had suffered from cult-related crises in the past, he described the present crisis as the worst, going by the number of casualties.
Another inhabitant told The Tide that the problem of Oyorokoto should be blamed on its residents who have refused to chase the miscreants out of the community.
According to him, members of the Icelander group were known to every inhabitant of Oyokoto arguing that nobody was ready to do something about them.
He also called for a military outpost in the area to the menace of the cult groups.
The divisional Police Officer (PP0) incharge of Andoni was not available in his office for comments when The Tide visited Ngo, headquarters of the local government area.
However, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Ahmed Mohammed, who was contacted on phone, promised to call back but never did.

Members of Ogoni Solidarity Forum protesting over non implementation of United Nations Environment Programme Report in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday