24 hours after the Nigerian Army laid siege in Rundele Community, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, normalcy has returned.
A source from the community had earlier claimed that the military men invaded the community after one of their men was allegedly killed in crossfire with supposed oil thieves in the area.
However, fresh revelations revealed that the soldiers had invaded the community after some of their rifles were stolen in the area.
Members of the local vigilante in Rundele were reported to have taken two rifles belonging to soldiers deployed in the community, after an alleged disagreement on issues bothering on illegal refining of crude.
Raye24reporters gathered that the soldiers burnt down a building where illegally refined crude oil products were stored, an action which raised tension in the community and grounded economic, social and religious activities.
The paramount ruler of the Rundele Community, Eze Damian Ejiowhor in an interview with DAILY POST, dismissed reports that the soldiers were violent in their approach to retrieving their firearms and live ammunition.
Eze Ejiowhor claimed that the firearms and live ammunition of the military men have been retrieved and handed over to the soldiers.
He also noted that the soldiers have left the community.
“In the past couple of days, there was an altercation, a little crisis between my community and the army.
“Our local vigilante here collected two automatic rifles and some live ammunition from the soldiers.
“The soldiers came in peacefully, they were not violent. All my council of chiefs came out in their numbers to interact with them.
“They only told us that if we give them their arms and ammunition, they will go. So, the people that had these arms, we have recovered it from them and we have given them back to the soldiers and they have left our community.
“Nobody was killed in this community. The community now is agog, and everybody is excited. Those who were kept in their rooms have now come out to jubilate that they’ve regained their freedom. Because the military had imposed a curfew so they can get out their rifles.”
“Because of the bunkery activities (illegal refining of crude) in this community, the soldiers went into a property and saw diesel in containers in large quantities and they burnt the place down; because they are doing bunkery (illegal refining of crude) in my community.
