COMMUNITY REPORT
BREAKING! Nine Feared Dead As Two Delta Oil Bearing Communities Battle Over Boundary
At least nine persons have been reportedly killed as communal crisis broke out between Oleh and Ozoro, both oil producing communities in Delta state.
BIGPEN reports the victims were hacked to death following dispute over a parcel of land where oil is suspected to have been found.
The nine persons killed were identified as indigenes of Oleh community, the headquarters of Isoko South local government area.
Sources disclosed that there is heavy tension in the two communities of possible communal war. An unconfirmed claim by a source says Oleh people are spoiling to launch a reprisal attack on Ozoro tonight.
Dependable sources revealed that the nine persons went for farming Friday morning where they were allegedly ambushed by yet-to-be established invaders who reportedly murdered them in cold blood with guns and cutlasses.
Among the victims killed were elderly women, men and some young boys.
One of our correspondent who visited the community, reports that nine lifeless bodies of the deceased were put on display at the center of the town.
Relations of victims were seen wailing and crying uncontrollably over the dastardly act.
The two oil bearing communities have been at dagger drawn over the boundary dispute for a while now, one source said.
According to the source, all efforts to resolve the dispute by the leadership of the Isoko Development Union, (IDU), traditional rulers, security agents and the state government yielded no fruition before the ugly attack by one of the community.
As of the time of filling this report for publication, an envelop of panic and fear have gripped residents of both Oleh and Ozoro as youths were reportedly grouping for a show down.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Police Command has confirmed the incident but yet to established the exact figures of the persons killed. The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, who confirmed the bloody crisis when contacted Friday evening, said that she is yet to get the accurate figures of those killed.
She, however, added that the command was already deploying security men to forestall any further breakdown of law and other.