From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Suspected cultists have shot dead a man identified as Ajemina Horsfall in Buguma, Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.
This came barely 48 hours after a similar incident occurred in Old Port Harcourt Township, in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, where two suspected cultists were killed and three wounded.
Saturday Sun gathered that
Horsfall was traced from Port Harcourt to Buguma, where he was killed after he attended an event in the area.
Coordinator of Rivers State Partners for Peace, Livingstone Membere, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said the killing has created panic in Buguma and nearby towns.
Membere disclosed: “Some yet-to-be-identified gunmen attacked and killed a young man by name Ajemina Horsfall along the King Amakiri Road in Buguma. It is believed to be cult rivalry.
“Once there is an attack and fatality, people naturally expect a reprisal, a counter attack. So, everybody in Buguma and its environs is scared, being very careful. It is not just being exposed to attack by the cultist, but also from being harassed by security operatives. So, the good people of Buguma are tensed”.
He urged the security operatives and the State government to change their approach to fighting crime in the state.
Membere said: “The Partners for Peace has a very efficient and early warning and early response system that receives information from communities.
“When we escalate this information to relevant authorities, the needed response is not there. We urge the police, especially the new Commissioner of Police, to take steps and begin to work with relevant stakeholders and community leadership, so that we can nip every violence in the bud.
“It is not just an enforcement thing. It is not just powering the security agents. Other stakeholders need to come together and fashion out ways and that is what we have been proposing”.
State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni, has confirmed the incident to journalists in Port Harcourt.
Omoni said the command had intensified efforts to track down the fleeing cultists.
Ends.