Armed men kill undergraduate, abduct seven women

Armed men have sacked an entire village in a part of Rivers State following intensified armed banditry. The state government has persistently said reports of violence and insecurity in the oil state have been fabricated and sponsored in the media.

So far, the only secondary school in the community, known as Rundele High School, has been shut together with a primary school. The police in the area said they had intensified patrols but armed men attacked the burial of an elder in the area and killed an undergraduate and abducted seven ladies serving at the funeral.

Important men in the area have deserted Agba Ndele in Emoha Local Government Area of the state.

Last weekend, a group of armed men suspected to be militants killed the undergraduate and abducted seven other women at the incident that swept through Agba Ndele in Emoha Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The suspected militants, according to our sources from the coastal town in Rundele Kingdom, had stormed the community, during the burial ceremony of an elder in the town, whose name was given as Ikpoku Ehio. The armed men opened fire at the crowd.

During the cross fire, our sources revealed, the undergraduate, whose name as given as Prosper Nwachukwu, was gunned down with several others injured.

The Nwachukwu, until his death, was a student of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education.

Apart from the death of the undergraduate, raping of women is rampant in the state as insecurity grows faster in the face of official denial.

According to our sources from Agba Ndele, there was pandemonium during the attack as several personalities and chiefs at the occasion ran and took cover to avert arrest or kidnap.

As at the time of gong to the press, the suspected militants had not made contact to free the seven women they took away.

Following the unprovoked and unwanted attacks from the suspected militants, said to be operating from Abua town in Abual/Odual local council area, the ancient town of Agba Ndele had been deserted.

According to our correspondent who visited the town, both the primary schools and the Rundele High school, the only college in the town, had been shut and students sent home.

Worst still, the famous Ahigbo, a popular market shared by the community and neighbouring riverine communities of Gbile, Harry’s Town and others, have been closed down.

The divisional police office at Rumuji town and the State Ant-Kidnapping Unit of the Nigerian Police Force as well as the Anti- Robbery Squad have all visited the town.

According to a police officer that spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymous, the police was doing everything possible to patrol the area more often.