Andoni Council of Traditional Rulers have called on the State Government and law enforcement agencies to intervene in the alleged communal clash between Andoni fishermen and the people of Finima in Bonny Local Government Area of the state.
The Chairman Andoni Council of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty King Dr. Aaron Ikuru, made this call while briefing newsmen on Tuesday at the Nigerian Union of Journalist Secretariat, Moscow Road, Portharcourt.
The King alleged that some persons from Finima in Bonny invited some officers of the JTF to attack Andoni fishermen who reside in a fishing settlement in Finima.
He further explained that there is an urgent need to restore peace between the Finima people of Bonny Island and the Andoni fishermen, stressing that Andoni and Bonny people have maintained an age-old good relationship and peaceful co-existence.
“We are calling on government and security agencies for proper investigation to be conducted to unravel the immediate causes of the attack on the good people of Andoni, and fish out the culprits, the law must take its due course”
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer, Rivers Command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, has debunked the allegation made by Andoni council of Chiefs over communal a clash between Andoni fishermen and some Finima people in Bonny.
According to him, the allegation is baseless since there is no such report from the Bonny DPO
“As far as I am concerned, that report is not verifiable. I was in touch with the DPO of Bonny and he never mentioned such clash. As I speak to you, I just came back from Bonny. We had a meeting with the council chairman, some Bonny stakeholders and some Andoni people were represented at that meeting. Nobody made mention of any crisis between Andoni and Bonny. That report, to my knowledge, is not verifiable”
However, the PPRO noted that the command will look into the allegation.
