Alleged brutalisation: Police arrest 3 members of vigilance group in Rivers

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Officers of Rivers State Police Command have raided the office of OSPAC, a local vigilance outfit in Rumuolomeni  Obio/Akpor local Government area of Rivers state.

It was learnt that three personnel of the security outfit were arrested during the raid which may not be unconnected to the alleged assault of one Clifford Woko, a property developer by members of the vigilance group at the community over his failure  to pay ‘marching ground fee’ (land levy) on a property under construction in the area.

It was gathered that the Human Rights Desk at the Rivers State Police Command headquarters had invited the OSPAC members allegedly involved in the brutalization of Woko on three occasions, but they did not honour the invitation before the raid.

Reacting to the arrest, Woko commended the Police and re-iterated his call for justice on the injuries inflicted on him allegedly by OSPAC members.

However, a leader of OSPAC in the community, Kenneth Olumeni had earlier denied the allegation that the outfit brutalized Woko. Rather, he said the property developer was a cultist who goes about disturbing other land developers.

The OSPAC leader who is also the Chief Security Officer of Rumuolomeni denied collecting ‘marching’ ground fee from Woko, but confessed that his group collects security levy from inhabitants of the community.

PM NEWS had reported on January 28 that the Rivers State Police Command was investigating OSPAC, over alleged brutality and torture of one Mr Woko for allegedly demanding  ‘marching or ground’ after the property developer refused to yield to their demand for land levy.

This followed a complaint filed at the human rights desk of the Police command by Woko.

Woko told the police that members of OSPAC, in Rumuolumeni brutalized him with machete on Saturday 23, January and inflicted serious injuries on him in an ordeal lasting many hours.

“They arrested me, tied me to a stake from 11 am to 4 pm. They beat me up with cutlass, shovel and big sticks. And they’re threatening to kill me because they said have killed many like me before and nothing happened to them. The called names of those they have killed. Kenneth Olumeni said his boys are angry with me. And I asked him why should his boys be angry with me? Did anybody report any criminal offence against me or did I steal from you?”

Woko further alleged that the OSPAC Boys in Rumuolumeni are the same people who go around the community seizing people’s property and demanding for all sorts of levies, including “Marching” Ground from property Developers.

Woko told journalists  that he got a call on  from the Engineer of a building site in his care that some persons are in the site demanding for ‘marching’ or  ground levy, which he described as an illegal fee.

According to him, he went to the site and met some OSPAC members reportedly led by Olumeni.

Woko alleged that OSPAC members began to beat him when he told them that the Rivers State Government has abolished ‘marching’ ground fee or levy.

He further claimed  he was forced into the OSPAC vehicle and taken to the office of the vigilance outfit where he was tied, detained and tortured for hours with machete before his release.

He said his Site Engineer out of fear paid N50,000 on Wednesday 27, January, 2021 for the release of some materials used on the site seized by OSPAC.

He called on the public to assist him get justice on the matter while alleging that his life is still danger due to threat from OSPAC members.