The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed that lives were lost after a boat reportedly capsized during a confrontation between youths and men in military uniform over an oil spill in Kula, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of the state.
Police said an investigation had begun to determine the exact number of casualties and the circumstances surrounding the incident, which occurred on Tuesday evening.
The oil spill was reportedly linked to the operations of a businessman whose vessel was being used to execute a contract in the area.
Our correspondent gathered on Wednesday that community members tried to stop the contractor’s operations pending remediation of the polluted environment and compensation for the damage caused by the spill.
The disagreement reportedly escalated when the uniformed personnel arrived at the scene in several gunboats and attempted to move the contractor’s vessel.
Youths from the community reportedly challenged the personnel, demanding to know why the vessel was being moved when their concerns over the pollution and demands for compensation had yet to be addressed.
The confrontation allegedly intensified as the uniformed men insisted on moving the vessel. In the ensuing chaos, one of the gunboats reportedly struck a boat conveying the youths, causing it to capsize.
About 10 people were feared dead in the incident, although the police said the casualty figure had yet to be established.
A community leader and pioneer spokeswoman for the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, confirmed the incident to our correspondent in a telephone conversation on Tuesday night.
Sara-Igbe alleged that the arrival of the uniformed personnel worsened the situation and undermined earlier efforts to resolve the dispute peacefully.
The Niger Delta activist and elder statesman called on the police and other relevant security agencies to investigate the incident and establish the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
He said, “The confrontation occurred amid attempts by residents to resist the alleged forceful re-entry to the site, during which a community boat capsized while trying to resist them. Ten people are feared dead.”
He further alleged that the uniformed personnel left the scene after the incident.
“Now, from what I gathered immediately after this tragedy happened, the uniformed people ran away,” he said.
Providing an update on Wednesday morning, Sara-Igbe condemned the incident and said the community intended to take the victims’ bodies to government and security authorities to demand accountability.
“We are going to bring the corpses of the victims, and we would be bringing them to Port Harcourt,” he said.
“We will take their corpses to Government House for the governor to know what has happened. We will also take the corpses to the police and Army headquarters in the state,” he added.
When contacted, the spokesman for the Nigerian Army’s 6 Division in Port Harcourt, Lt. Col. Umar, said he was unaware of the incident but promised to make inquiries.
In a message to our correspondent on Wednesday morning, he said, “We are not aware of this. But we will make inquiries.”
However, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Blessing Agabe, confirmed the incident on Wednesday morning but said the actual casualty figure had yet to be determined.
“The Rivers State Police Command is aware of the incident in Kula Kingdom, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, which reportedly resulted in the loss of lives.
“Investigation is ongoing to ascertain the exact number of casualties and the circumstances surrounding the incident,” Agabe, an assistant superintendent of police, said in a message to our correspondent.
