The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the loss of life following a boat capsize reportedly linked to a confrontation between youths and men in military uniform over an oil spill in Kula, Akuku-Iri Local Government Area of the state.
The incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday evening as community members attempted to stop further operations by a contractor pending the remediation of the affected environment and compensation for the spill.
It was gathered that the dispute involved a businessman whose vessel was being used to execute a contract in the area.
The situation reportedly escalated when men in uniform arrived in gunboats and attempted to move the businessman’s vessel.
Youths from the community allegedly challenged the move, questioning why the vessel was being relocated before their concerns about the pollution and compensation had been addressed.
During the confrontation, one of the gunboats reportedly struck a boat carrying the youths, causing it to capsize.
A community leader and pioneer spokeswoman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, confirmed the incident to our reporter 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 authorities to investigate the incident and establish the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
He stated, “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.
“Now, from what I gathered, immediately after this happened (tragedy), the uniformed people ran away.”
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 offices.
“We are going to bring the corpses of the victims and we would be bringing them to Port Harcourt.
“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 on Wednesday, the spokesman of 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 reporter 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 established.
“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 sent to our reporter.