Rivers Police Probe Okrika-Eleme Hostilities, Confirm No Casualties

The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed that no lives were lost during Thursday night’s hostilities between communities in Okrika and Eleme local government areas of the state, while announcing that an investigation into the incident is underway.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko Agabe, disclosed this in a text message to journalists in Port Harcourt on Friday.

According to her, the violence was triggered by a long-running land dispute between the two communities, which is currently the subject of litigation.

Agabe said only one Hilux vehicle was destroyed during the incident, adding that the Commissioner of Police had intervened to restore calm.

“What led to the shooting is a land dispute that has been ongoing for years, and both communities are currently in court over the matter. There was no casualty; only a Hilux vehicle was burnt. The Commissioner of Police has intervened in the matter and investigation is ongoing,” she said.

LEADERSHIP had reported that fresh hostilities erupted on Thursday night between communities in Okrika and Eleme local government areas, with heavy gunfire reported along the boundary separating the two councils.

The latest violence is linked to a lingering land dispute between the neighbouring communities. The last major clash between them occurred in 1993 and claimed several lives on both sides.

Amid the renewed tension, the chairman of Eleme Local Government Area, Obarilomate Ollor, ordered the immediate suspension of all real estate activities in the area.

Ollor said the directive became necessary because of the activities of alleged land grabbers along the Woji-Aleto-Alesa Link Road and the Agbonchia-Akpajo section of the Port Harcourt Ring Road.

He warned that anyone found violating the order would face legal action, insisting that the disputed land was gazetted following a 1957 Supreme Court judgment and had not been allocated to any private individual or group by the local authority.

The council chairman also disclosed that the local government had petitioned the relevant authorities through the member representing Eleme Constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Aforji Igwe, requesting a thorough investigation into the dispute.