… As Calls For Disbandment Heighten
12 Members of a local vigilante in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local Government in Rivers State known as ONELGA Security Planning Advisory Committee (OSPAC) were arrested and detained by soldiers who reportedly came from the headquarters of 6 Division Nigeria Army in Port Harcourt.
One of the vigilante members was said to have shot a lady on her leg over little misunderstanding in Egi clan of the local government area, last Thursday. A native of the community who pleaded anonymity told National Network that a relative of the lady who is suspected to be Military personnel allegedly brought in the soldiers who stormed the OSPAC office and arrested twelve of them.
The source explained that there was pandemonium in the community as the Military men shot sporadically into the air while villagers scampered for safety. So many persons also sustained different degree of injuries in the process. We also learned that their shrine was also carted away by the soldiers.
The lady who was allegedly shot by one of the vigilante members is recuperating in an undisclosed hospital in Port Harcourt.
Chief Goodluck Okoro, Commander General of OSPAC did not pick calls put across to him neither did he respond to text messages sent to him by National Network on the incident.
The spokesperson of 6 Division, Nigeria Army, Col. Aminu Illaysu was yet to respond to text message sent to his mobile line by our reporter at the time of filing this report.
The spokesperson of Rivers State Police Command, DSP Omoni Nnamd, i did not also respond to text message sent to him by our reporter neither did he pick calls put across to him.
We gathered that the Nigeria Army has transferred the vigilante members to the headquarters of Department of State Services (DSS) in the state for further investigations. The transfer could not be confirmed by our reporter since DSS has no known spokesperson in the state.
However, a prominent youth in ONELGA, Bright Abali in a chat with National Network explained that there was need for continual orientation of members of the vigilante group as regards issues of rules of engagement and code of conduct guiding their operations.
It would be recalled that Governor Nyesom Wike had two months ago restricted the operations of the OSPAC to ONELGA over alleged extra judicial killing of a man in Igwurita Ali in Ikwerre Local Government Area which sparked violent protest.
OSPAC was set up in 2017 to assist security agencies in curbing insecurity challenges in ONELGA, which ranged from kidnapping, cultism, murder, armed robbery ,illegal oil bunkering to rape among others .
Investigations showed that OSPAC was instrumental in the tracking and killing of ‘Don Wayne’ notorious kidnapper /cultist who was accused of killing 23 worshippers on New Year eve in 2017.
As at press time, feelers from the community indicate that apart from the OSPAC member who allegedly shot the lady, others are expected to be released soon.
