People of Udoda community in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State has kicked against the continual attacks by thugs, military invasion, and air raids in the area.
The community said over 30 indigenes including a chief have lost their lives since the raids and attacks started in 2019.
In a statement on Sunday, the Paramount Ruler of the community, HRH, Okaya Gospel, said residents have deserted the community due to the destruction of property in the various invasions and attacks.
The monarch blamed surveillance contractors securing pipelines in the area for the attacks bedeviling them, noting that each time the people requested basic amenities, their voices were quelled with attacks and raids.
“Many people have died in these attacks and air raids. They used air raids to burn houses and kill innocent people. Recently they invaded this community. It has been happening since 2019. They came in 2019 with air raids. They burnt houses and killed people and rendered them homeless.
“On May 27th, 2019, there was a raid in which people were killed. In November 2020 another air raid occurred in which a boy and other five people were killed.
“On June 15th, 2022, another attack occurred again and a chief was killed. On the 27th of June, they entered the community, shot and killed people. They broke doors and stole money worth N30milion and people were rendered homeless. Over 30 people have been killed in these attacks,” he stated.
King Gospel insisted that the community had not committed any offense to deserve the crisis as he urged the Federal Government to intervene in the matter, adding that the community lacked basic amenities like roads, hospitals, light among others.
“People are dying of ill health in their hideouts. People can no longer sleep. They should call the military and the contractors to order”, he said.
On his part, the Youth President, Peter Francis, observed that although there were illegal bunkering activities in the bushes, such illegal acts were not happening in the community to warrant air raids and the killing of innocent people.
Francis urged the military and others involved to direct their operations to the forest and stop the killing of innocent indigenes, destroying houses and properties.
He recalled that in the last attack, unknown soldiers aided by some hooligans had ransacked people’s houses and stole over N30milion belonging to different people in the community.
