TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Police Command said it has recovered the bodies of five people killed by unidentified gunmen in Etche Local Government Area of the state.
State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the incident to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
Omoni disclosed that the incident occurred on Sunday, adding that bidies were recovered this evening from  Chokocho River in the area.
However, an anonymous community source had earlier alleged that the people behind the killing were members of a local vigilance group.
Omoni stated: “Five persons were shot dead in Etche. We have recovered five corpses this (Monday) evening. They were killed by yet-to-be identified gunmen. Though, people were insinuating that OSPAC members were involved. We should not begin to guess in this type of situation.
“It happened on Sunday and it spilled over to today (Monday) The community said it is OSPAC, but OSPAC does not have the right to kill. But, we are still investigating to know the circumstances surrounding the killing.
“Some of the bodies were recovered from the river. They were attacked on Chokocho bridge. Some of them were shot and they fell into the river. Some of the bodies have even started decomposing”, he disclosed.