Gunmen Invade Bar, Kill Two In PH

A group of yet-to-be identified gunmen has shot and killed two men in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Two other persons were also injured by the rampaging gunmen who stormed a bar located along Aggrey Road and opened fire on those sitting outside the bar.
The incident, which occurred at about 10pm on Monday, caused pandemonium around the busy area popularly known as ‘Town,’ even as passersby and motorists took shortcuts to avoid the scene of the incident.
Though, the motive of the gunmen, who were suspected to be cult members was not known, one of the residents of the area expressed fear that the dark days of violent crime might be back to the state.
“The way these people (unknown gunmen) operate now is making everybody to be afraid. They drove in and started shooting and at the end, we heard that two person were killed while another two were seriously injured.
“From what happened that night, it is like the dark days of cult clash are here again,” a resident of Aggrey Road in Port Harcourt said.
It was learnt that the attack on the bar took place few hours after a cleric was killed during a clash between two communities in Gokana Local Government Area.
It was gathered that one of the two persons killed at the bar died in a nearby hospital as a result of the gunshot injuries sustained during the incident.
A source said the attack on the bar was not unconnected with the rivalry between dare-devil cult groups popularly called Icelanders and Greenlanders.
The Tide recalls that over the last two weeks, close to 25 persons have been killed in the state in related circumstances.
Last week, gunmen stormed a restaurant on Trans Amadi Road by Bewak Junction, opened fire on apparently innocent customers, and killed five instantly.
Elsewhere in Abuloma, a week earlier, gunmen had invaded a hotel, where they allegedly killed two.
At the weekend in a village in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, gunmen sacked seven communities, and killed about 15, just as another set of cult groups clashed in Baen and Kpean communities in Khana Local Government Area, during which two persons lost their lives, including one beheaded by his assailants.
However, the state Assistant Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mrs. Grace Iringe-Koko, did not confirm the attack on the bar along Aggrey Road, adding that she has not been briefed on the incident.