The leaders of Okomu in Ovia Southwest Local Government Area of Edo State have raised the alarm over incessant attacks on residents of the ancient community and destruction of their valuable property by a terrorist group, headed by a middle-aged man (name withheld).
They disclosed that many Okomu residents were now homeless and taking refuge in neighbouring communities.
Okomu leaders also pleaded with Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ijaw National Congress (INC), and the Federal Government to rescue them from the notorious terrorist and members of his lawless group.
The leaders: Chief Freeman Cousin, I.K. Denmene, Chief Atele Oyico, and Chief Nanaghan Rickson, as well as the community’s Youth President, Christopher Young, yesterday disclosed that the last attack that took place some days ago, saw the terrorist and members of his gang invading Okomu in the midnight,
Shooting some security guards on night duty, set on fire over thirty houses and a double 85 horsepower Yamaha engine, and an expensive speed boat belonging to Edo state government.
In the “Save Our Souls (SOS)” message, the leaders lamented that the gangsters had rendered thousands of residents homeless, as a result of the incessant attacks on the peaceful Okomu and its environs.
The community hosts the Okomu Oil Palm Company PLC, a successful company established initially in 1976 in Edo state by the Federal Government of Nigeria, before becoming a Public Limited Company (PLC) in 1990, with the company managing its plantation in a transparent and sustainable manner, which had been ensuring the ongoing impressive performance of the oil palm firm’s activities and operations.
They said: “Three of the Edo State Security Network’s (ESSN’s) personnel sustained injuries during the last attack, and were taken to the hospital. The attackers then burnt two heavy-duty tractors, a Steyr-diesel truck (agbegi), and 13 houses at Edonghan village. The group of terrorists equally destroyed the ESSN’s base in Okomu. (The Nation)
