Again, Ikot Offiong Unleash Terror on Oku Iboku, Many Killed as 12 Corpses are Recovered

Gunmen suspected to have been mobilised by the people of Ikot Offiong in Odukpani local government area of Cross River State have again unleashed terror on the citizens of Oku Iboku in Itu local government area of Akwa Ibom state with dozens of people killed on the waterways that serve as boundary between the two sister states.

THISDAY checks revealed that twelve corpses of those murdered have been recovered while many are yet to be seen in the attack recorded on Friday.

Sources said the victims, mainly women and fishermen, were ambushed and attacked by the gunmen who invaded the territory without any resistance as they embarked on their normal daily farming and fishing businesses.

The attack, it was learnt, took place within the Western flank of the Cross River bank of the River where the defunct Oku Iboku paper mill had its jetty.

Sources said the gunmen went to the area with more than 15 flying boats and started shooting on the women who were returning from the farm; young men who were diving and in search of periwinkles and lobsters on the bed of the river, as well as fishermen on fishing expedition.

The bodies of those killed were reportedly dumped in the river while those who sustained gun and machete cuts who escaped to the village broke the news of the attack.

A community leader from Oku Iboku who pleaded for anonymity described the killing of indigenes of the area as a provocative attack.

“Innocent women and men who went in search of their mean of livelihood were just murdered for nothing. Some of the corpses dumped in the river were trapped by the fishing nets. Three corpses were recovered on Friday by the fishing nets and today (Saturday) another nine corpses have been picked up floating on the water”, he said

At the time of going to press, the people of Oku Iboku were said to be in a crucial security meeting over the development in the community.

The Chairman of the Itu Local Government Transition Committee, Mrs. Else Esara confirmed the attack saying some dead bodies from the river have been recovered.