Rivers community seeks IGP intervention over ‘killings of residents’ by armed group

Residents of the Mgbuoshimini community in Obio-Akpor LGA of Rivers have cried out over the incessant killings in the town by an armed group.

In a Save Our Souls (SOS) letter, Wilfred Amadi, secretary of the Mgbuoshimini community development council, said a group of armed men invaded the town on January 13 and killed Ndidi Livingstone, the chairman of the council.

Amadi said before the murder of Livingstone, over 30 members of the community had been killed by a killer group known as the Don-wani structure since 2017.

Amadi said the community has written multiple petitions to the police on the activities of the armed group led by one Daddy Chukwu.

He said while the police have declared Daddy Chukwu wanted, killings linked to the group have persisted in the community and the “killers are still walking free.”

“The chairman of Mgbuoshimini Community Development Council (CDC) was assassinated by some gunmen who drove into the community in the evening hours of Saturday 13th January 2024,” the SOS letter reads.

“While the late Chief Ndidi Livingstone was making his way out of the church within the community, the gunmen opened fire on him and killed him.

“That killing is one too many in our community since 2017 when a killer group of the notorious Don-wani structure led by a certain Daddy Chukwu a.k.a OBONI killed over thirty people in our community in one day including our very own Chief Minikwu Chukwu who was also gruesomely killed same year during a community meeting along with several prominent members of our community such as Hon. Omunakwe Benson, Philip Aligbo etc who were all shot dead. 

“That whereas the Nigerian Police Force Rivers State command declared these killers led by Daddy Chukwu a.k.a OBONI, an indigene of Omoku, wanted as can be confirmed in a widely publicised Police report, none of them have been brought to justice as they continue to terrorise and kill freely in our community.”

Amadi alleged that efforts by members of the community to defend themselves through the use of vigilante groups were truncated by the police.

“As a community, we have written a series of petitions to the Inspector-General of Police to intervene and bring these killers and their known sponsors to justice but this is yet to be achieved because of compromise by some Police officers,” he said.

“That their known sponsors have continued to boast of more killings in the community claiming that they will continue to buy over the security agencies including the Nigerian Police Force and that nothing will happen as they brag openly that the Police are under their control.”