No, Never Again …That Resurgence Of Gang Killings

The killing last week of 15 people by suspected cultists in some Egi communities in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State conjures a sad reminder of the days preceding September 2007, when, Port Harcourt, the state capital and environs were under siege. Those were days when, residents went about hands-in-the-air, in response to Joint Task Force (JTF) command, meant to fish out cult gangs’ members.
It was indeed a gory site picturing pregnant women, the aged, and innocent men, women and children subjected to such rigorous search and stress while , the real culprits were away in the creeks and swamps. That JTF exercise was for a purpose.
Port Harcourt in particular and parts of the state had become one huge battle ground, as rival cult-groups daily felled enemy combatants in a war of supremacy.
On a daily basis major streets, roads and walkways were littered with dead bodies which deaths could not be explained.
But a more worrisome slant was that of frequent kidnapping, with outrageous demands for ramson. Community chiefs, Catholic Priests, top government officials and even private individuals were not spared, giving the picture that it was not an entirely politically motivated siege.
Thriving alongside the Niger Delta struggle for political integration, economic empowerment and socio-cultural relevance, it was too difficult to differentiate cult gangs from militants, as oil pipelines were frequently attacked with very disastrous consequences.
When however, the Musa Yar’Adua Presidency pronounced  amnesty, there was not a need to differentiate the wheat from the chaff and all became beneficiaries of the government’s rehabilitation package, against protests by many who did not see all beneficiaries as deserving of such gesture.
Infact, the government of Rivers State under the watch of Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi made strenuous efforts to fight the cult war and personally led teams in search of them in the various hideouts. With that sincerity of purpose and strong political will demonstrated by government, cult gangs went to sleep and peace was restored.
Before then, senseless killings, gang-wars and street violence had claimed thousands of lives at peace time. Some said the cult groups were creations of ambitious politicians with the intent of influencing electoral outcomes by force, while, others called them creations of the larger society as a sad credential of a failed state that could not provide for the most vulnerable in the societal chain-the youth.
Those in the first school insisted that many of the cult leaders were thugs, sorry supporters of various politicians that were shortchanged after various electoral exercises, while others insist they were criminal gangs that benefitted from the political cover given by the larger society. The bottom-line is that none of them was  innocent, whether protesting against erstwhile sponsors or benefiting from a confused political atmosphere.
In some communities, such gang heads were lords and even superintended over community affairs while, chiefs and elders were cowed into silence. Those who summoned the courage to protest the displacement of the status quo learnt their lessons the hardway and did not live to share their experiences.
Such was the manner of criminal siege that enveloped parts of the state and which caused various Churches to fast and pray until the Amaechi government got it right and later the pronouncement of amnesty for Niger Delta militants.
Strangely but surely those dark days Rivers people wished to forget are coming back with daily reports of one murder or another or entire communities under siege.
In the case of Egi community, media reports said suspected gunmen July 31, this year invaded the area, killing 15 people. The invasion covered seven communities, with a source saying the invaders went in a bus , fully armed.
The affected communities include Obagi, Ede, Obite, Egi Town, Obieze, Obimiri and Akabuka. Once there, according to a resident, Elder Obinache Anthony, the invaders started shooting sporadically, and in the end, killing 15 people at peace time.
It is not yet clear if the invasion was a fresh attack by one armed gang or one in reprisal. But many of those killed are said to be innocent, as is often the case in inter-gang wars.
Not too long ago, some Andoni communities also boiled as residents scampered for safety following similar attacks. In that experience, at least two were reportedly killed while, other residents had to flee from their homes. They became refugees in their own land.
These are merely few examples of the fresh cult-related violence that appears to be resurging. And at disturbing degrees. Infact, in some communities residents now sleep with two eyes open, unsure of what the breaking day will announce.
Such is the level of fear, apprehension and uncertainty some communities in Rivers State have been subjected to, as sounds of gunfire frequently light the nights while, the days break with gory tales of fresh deaths.
What are we fighting for? Is this all in preparation for 2015? Is  any body’s election worth anyone’s blood? Have those youngmen and women, daily used for  the politically-motivated ring of violence, ever wondered if children of their sponsors are part of the senseless wars? How much is the worth of life to such sponsors? What happens beyond 2015 when, the elections must have been lost and won?
What will the sponsors do with the dangerous monster they are grooming today, when fully equipped with lethal weapons they get  out of control and demand their due? Can the sponsors of armed gangs recover such weapons afterwards with the same ease with which they now equip them?
These questions have become necessary because they form the nucleus of the now thriving business. Gradually, armed political gangs are re-emerging and building up arms in readiness for battle against enemy gangs. To be relevant to their sponsors, such groups must main and shoot to kill at the slightest provocation to justify their funding and at other times attack to send fear to opponents.
From one attack to a reprisal and a reprisal for yet another and  the cycle of violence continues. All the dead are not merely gang-members, there are innocent others often caught in crossfire. Yet, blood and more blood must flow, as they often say.
These are strange times when, the threat which Boko Haram poses to the nation can no longer be seen as a strictly Northern worry, and thus requires vigilance on the  part of every citizen. It is a time when all Nigerians ought to embrace peace and unity to withstand the uncertainties which the thriving terror-based insurgency holds against a nation and its peoples.
To ignore the resurgence of cult gangs and look-away as the youth of the state engage in bitter and senseless blood letting and meaningless violence would spell  a greater doom to not just the state’s economy but indeed the socio-cultural imperatives that make us Rivers.
Some of these activities may appear distant of the undiscerning but by its nature, violence spreads like bush fire if not promptly checked. Silence means planting a time-bomb that spares none, discerning or undiscerning..
This indeed is the challenge the security agencies must brace-up for now, before it get out of hand. The State Police Command and the Joint Task Force (JTF) must start now to identify gang-leaders and their sponsors, and move to contain them before they consume us, our economy, our night–life, our education and our pride as Rivers people.
It is suggested in some quarters that most of such groups are already known to the security agencies and are being watched closely. If so, that siege on Egi communities would have been prevented. The unrest that sacked some Andoni communities would have been averted also.
These questions that theory and raises another as to the neutrality of the forces. No armed gang survives without and influential sponsor who, at all times helps to secure the release of arrested members from the hands of the Police. Infact in the heat of the cult wars, there were stories of some Police officers getting initiated and through such contacts, the gangs could read the Police Command’s every move.
To succeed therefore, the security agencies must be a political and deal decisively with culprit. They must be bold enough to question and expose sponsors o such cult gangs, without whom the ring of violence would be  less-glamorous, to the ordinary followers.
For now, the Police Command owes Rivers people full-account of the Egi invasion, the principal actors, their motive, sponsors and modus operandi. It should indeed be a test case of police readiness to combat cult-based violence against which Rivers people have repeatedly prayed.
My Agony is that the politics of stomach infrastructure is not limited to social engineering alone. Men in uniform are not from the moon but of the same societal stock, that go hungry, get greedy atimes and die of strife like others. Such gullible lot succumbs to the whims of the cult groups’ pay masters. That is indeed the danger we face.

Soye Wilson Jamabo

Suleiman Abba