The Delta State Police Command has confirmed that one person was on Friday morning shot dead as the lingering inter-communal dispute over boundary demarcation between neighboring Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh communities of the Udu and Warri South-West Local Government Areas of the state took a harmful twist.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the State Command, DSP Bright Edafe, while confirming the casualty figure in a text message, told journalists, “One death is confirmed, pls.”
Community sources, however, claimed that two deaths were recorded in the shooting incident which occurred as early as around 5:00 am on Friday.
It was gathered that the early morning shooting spree threw the entire residents of Ogbe-Ijoh into pandemonium as residents, who were rattled by the renewed attack, were said to have taken cover as gun-wielding invaders allegedly advanced, despite the presence of security officers.
Sources alleged that the attackers might have been provoked by a recent statement credited to a section of Ogbe-Ijoh youths, indicating displeasure over the ongoing boundary adjustment efforts of the state government and authorities of the Warri South-West Local Government Council.
The aggrieved Ogbe-Ijoh youths had vowed not to let go of any part of their land in neighboring communities in the name of a boundary adjustment.
A statement from the group had read partly, “The Grand Commandant of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom Interest & Defensive Forum (OIDF), Gen. Powode Ikoro, Action Chairman, Francis Oromoni, Commander Endurance Ogbe and National president of OIDF Okosu Smart and others led Ogbe-Ijoh youths to verify purported boundary areas but to our surprise, three of Ogbe-Ijoh buildings were demolished without the consent of the owners and even the Ogbe-Ijoh people.
Source: Punch