Insecurity: How Wike, Indorama fight scourge in Eleme Industrial Community

If there is any challenge Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers state has been contending with since he took the mantle of leadership is the menace of insecurity that has been sweeping the land space of the oil-rich state. GODWIN EGBA reports.

Criminal elements

Investors and the residents in Eleme and other parts of Rivers state have been living with ugly and heart breaking tales over ceaseless or unabated activities of organised criminal elements like kidnappers, cultists and dare-devil bandits terrorizing the state.

The Eleme local government area is one of the 23 council areas that made up the state and is not exempted in criminal attacks. Eleme is an oil and gas industrial and commercial hub in the state priding itself as the heartbeat of Nigeria’s economy.

It is a homogeneous land that houses the country’s premier oil and gas dedicated free zone  where about 200 licensed multinationals are operating . It is also the immediate host land to a world-class Indorama-Eleme Petrochemicals Limited [IEPCL] and fertilizer plant; Nigeria Ports Authority [NPA Onne], Port-Harcourt Refining Company [PHCRC] and NOTORE Chemical Company [Formally NAFCON] among others.

Criminality a thriving business

Before politics took a full center stage in Rivers state in 2019, Eleme was a place to live because of its congenial, peace-loving people but since the later part of 2019 till date, like other parts of the state, criminality became a thriving business where kidnapping, cultism and brazen robberies hold sway to the chagrin of the state government and security agencies.

Eleme is made up of Alesa, Aleto, Agbonchai, Akpajo, Alode,Ebubu, Eteo, Ogale, Onne and Ekporo communities. They all  have woe tales/ records of uncountable blood-chilling criminal activities executed by kidnapping, robberies and cultism in recent past, especially Ebubu, Alesa, Aleto, Agbonchaib and Alode.

For instance, residents in Ebubu would not forget too soon how some unidentified assassins hacked down a business man after allegedly collecting about ₦10 million from him early last year yet they killed him. The area is seen as a hot bed of cultism and mindless killings.

Fish out the culprits

Also in Alode, a onetime Eleme youth president, Mr. Isaac obe was killed in 2018 by an unknown person(s) for no clear motive. As if that was not enough, the syndicate also went after his sister Barrister Mary Obe who vowed to unravel the identity of her brother’s killer(s) through investigation. Till date, the police have not been able to fish out the culprits.

In Aleto, kidnappers were on the prowl in July 2019 where over 10 cases of kidnap were recorded involving victims who are either chiefs, clergies and businessmen and women alike. An English Professor Nglube of Alesa community was not spared last year as he was whisked away from his Alesa resident. Most of the organised kidnappings in various places occurred between 7:00 and 8:00 pm.

Strange faces

Criminality seized the land space of Eleme and people were no longer sleeping with their two eyes closed. Business operators and residents live with fear as all became wary of strange faces within the neighbourhood. Criminal gangs terrorized shop owners in the ultra modern Nchieta-Eleme market and outside the market complex with impunity.

The total security break down in the past five years in Eleme and other adjoining neighboring local government areas like Khana, Gokana, Tai, in Ogoni axis became a serious issue that dented the image of Governor Wike-led government, the security agencies, Eleme traditional rulers, youth leaders and the Local Government Council Authority. The governor  while blowing hot heaped the blame on Eleme people whom he accused of habouring criminal elements among themselves without exposing them for the law to take its course against them.

Blame Eleme politicians

A one-time youth president of Ogale community and member of All Progressive Congress [APC], Mr. Walter Olaka, in his opinion blamed Eleme politicians, traditional rulers and unemployment for fueling insecurity in Eleme land , lamenting that coupled with the general unemployment situation in the state, Eleme leaders compromised customs and values system in Eleme as they are shielding criminals in their midst.

It came to a point where business operators and residents were no longer walking on the road or operating without watching their back for fear of falling. Even fear of gracing social events like wedding or burial into late hours became the beginning of wisdom to all and sundry.

Governor Wike chided community leaders, stakeholders in a security meeting with him saying: “All persons involved in cultism are known by the community leaders. We are coming after them to restore peace both in Eleme and Ogoni land. This time no effort would be spared to check the rising insecurity; We will tackle cultism head-long,” he assured.

Synergy with security agencies

The sitting Eleme council chairman, Barrister Philip Okparaji, on his part said he is not resting on his oars over security challenges in his domain. He holds meetings with community, political and youth leaders from time to time with synergy with security Agencies to rid Eleme free of criminal elements.

Blueprints reliably gathered that at least the synergy with the police paid off for Okparaji as a notorious cultist ‘Mba Joe’ terrorizing the peace of Eleme met his waterloo before the end of last year. Since then the business community has begun to enjoy peace and calmness. Indeed the chairman’s efforts with his community leaders  and security apparatus at his disposal has brought criminality to its barest minimum.

Governor Wike came out of his security meeting with stakeholders in Eleme, Tai, Gokana and Khana local government areas and issued an order to the council chairmen and their community leaders to expose and flush criminals in their midst or face the government’s wrath. That also added an impetus to the fight against dare-devil criminal in the areas.

Zero-tolerance for security challenges

Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Company on its parts has demonstrated its commitment towards achieving zero-tolerance in security challenges in Eleme. Early this year, 2020, it donated three patrol vans to the Eleme Local Government area Council for use by the police to maintain security in the industrial-rich arena.

The company also set up police post/check points along Agbonchia-Eleme-Oyigbo farm road Alode and Eteo roads. These roads are major unmanned routes through which criminal elements operate. The Indorama Assistant General Manager, Government and Community Relations, Mr. Kendrick Oluka, who recently handed the patrol vans to the Eleme Council chairman, Barrister Philip Okparaji, on behalf of the company disclosed that the company was passionate about the security and development of its host communities and Eleme in general.

Enlarged security partnership

The company enlarged its security partnership in Eleme by erecting solar powered street light doted in Aleto community as part of its community social responsibility [CSR] to the people. In addition to that, it has also begun construction of a standard technical college In Agbonchia-Eleme community.

Oluka  said all the projects were continuation of the company’s resolve to make life better for its host communities and Eleme as a whole even as the government is playing its own part, adding that the technical college was designed to offer educational programmes that specializes in skilled trades, vocational trainings, applied sciences, modern technologies and career preparations.

He stressed that the school project was conceived to invest in the development of sustainable future human capital development of Eleme people, especially to expose the youths to practical vocations that would take them of from criminal domain or path of life.

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