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Residents, ‘Ogogoro’ Traders Panic As Erosion Hits Delta community

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Residents and traders of Bomadi-Overside community in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State have called on Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to intervene and arrest the frequent erosion ravaging the commercial hub of the council area, which is on verge of being washed away by the dreadful phenomenon.

Calling on both the state and federal governments, landlords, residents and traders on the locally-made gin, popularly known as Ogogoro, appealed to Gov. Oborevwori and the management of NDDC to make haste to avoid catastrophe befalling the community.

Mr Peter Oseghe, who spoke to Vanguard on behalf of Bomadi-Overside landlords, narrated the impact of the River Dragon on residents of the community, noting that they were living in fear, particularly during the night hours when everybody is asleep.

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He said: “We are living in absolute fear because the incident occurs every month now. Initially, it was not so when I came to this place, but now we’re experiencing continuous erosion phenomena eating deep into our land and houses.

READ ALSO: Police Rescue Aged Woman From Her Bullying Daughter In Anambra

“I am a landlord and when I built my house years back, the coastline was far away, we walked a long distance to fetch water from the river. But now, my house is very close to the shore and we’re living in fear, my tenants and I cannot have a good sleep during the night hours.

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“So, we are appealing to Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori and the management of NDDC to make haste to come to our aid because anything can happen anytime, most especially in this flood season coupled with the rains.

“We have made individual efforts to curb the situation but it is beyond our control, government should intervene to either pile the waterfront or construct a seawall to arrest the situation”.

However, findings by Vanguard revealed that, if urgent steps are not taken by appropriate authorities to curb the situation, Bomadi-Overside, which is the commercial hub and cosmopolitan community in the local government area, will be washed away with the frequency of occurrences of the incident.

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Mr Tinto Eniekezimene and Mrs Gbebe, speaking on behalf of Ogogoro Union traders, however, disclosed that countless houses had been washed away by erosion over the years.

READ ALSO: NDLEA Investigates Shooting Of 2-year-old Boy By Officer In Delta

“We have lost countless houses to this erosion, we cannot count them because the waterfront you see here was far away from this place years back. Mr Gabriel’s house has also been washed away and we cannot continue to fold our arms to watch anymore.

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“We observed that the river current is directly facing this side, eating deep into the land while there is sandbank across the river.

“The apparent solution to this situation is to dredge the sand from across the river to this side and to either pile the waterfront or build a seawall to control it.

“This is beyond our capacity and that is why we’re crying to Gov. Oborevwori and the federal government to come and help us out of this dreadful situation.

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“Delay is dangerous in this issue as the occurrences this year alone have taken much of our land and still encroaching as we are speaking to you”, they said.

Metro

16-year-old Killed As NDLEA Operatives, Drug Barons Clash In Edo

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Edo State Command, and drug barons reportedly clashed at Okpuje, Uzeba community in Owan West Local Government Area, leading to the death of a 16 -years -old boy, identified as Emmanuel Monday George.

Two others identified as God’spower Omage (20 years) and Ajayi Irobia (54 years), were said to have sustained serious injuries during the gun duel which reportedly happened on Monday.

Mitchell Ofoyeju, state commander of the NDLEA disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin on Thursday.

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READ ALSO:NDLEA Unveils Digital Platform For Drug Integrity Test, Visa Clearance Certificate

Ofoyeju said that one of its officers sustained an injury after being struck on the hand with a sharp object.

Recall that Army and NDLEA officers were recently attacked by drug barons in the agrarian community, notable for cannabis cultivation.

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JUST IN: Fire Guts Store At Abuja Mall

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A fire incident occurred at the Jabi Lake Mall, Abuja in the early hours of Thursday.

The cause of the fire, which started around 3am, could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.

It was gathered that only the Adidas Sports shop was affected.

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It was further gathered that firefighters from the Federal Fire Service, the Berger Fire Department, and the FCT Fire Service, as well as police officers, were deployed to the scene.

READ ALSO: Nigerian Jailed In US Over $6m Inheritance Fraud

A resident of Jabi, Saliu, who informed our correspondent of the incident, said the fire had been contained.

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He said, “Around 3am., this morning, there was a fire incident at the Jabi Lake Mall in Abuja. No loss of life or injury was recorded. Only the Adidas Sports shop was affected by the fire.”

The FCT police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident to The PUNCH.

Adeh said police officers were deployed to the location to secure the area and prevent looting.

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“We received a distress call at about 3:40 a.m. We immediately deployed our men there to secure the place and prevent any breach of public order,” she said.

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JUST IN: Hausa, Benin Youths Clash Over Killing Of Suspected Yahoo Boy

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Photo: file copy

Several persons were on Wednesday night injured in a clash between Hausa and Benin youths, in Ogheghe community, Egor Local Government Area of Edo State, over the killing of a suspected yahoo boy identified as Chizi Benz.

According to sources, Chizi Benz was said to have been stabbed to death by a Hausa youth over a sour deal.

Though details of the deal were not available as at press time, the killing of Chidi Benz sparked outrage as youths stormed the streets with dangerous weapons in a revenge mission.

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According to sources, many ‘Abokis’ were injured in a reprisal attack while others fled for safety.

READ ALSO:Deputy Gov Pledges Support For Edo Queens

News of the killing was to have spread to nearby communities of Uwelu along the Siluko Axis, forcing Hausa youths who do petty trading and rides okada closed their businesses and fled for safety.

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According to sources, policemen who were deployed to the area fired tear gas to disperse the angry youths.

Edo Police Spokesman, Moses Yamu, who confirmed the incident, promised to send a detailed statement.

He was yet to do so as at press time.

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