Gunmen in speedboats abduct traditional rulers in Rivers

Daniel Efe /Port Harcourt

Gunmen riding in about five speedboats have kidnapped the Chairman of Abissa Council of Chiefs, High Chief Matthew Opoto in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State. 

Chief Opoto was abducted over the weekend on his way to his community. He was traveling along with members of his council of chiefs while sailing  through the Abisse waterway in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area. 

An indigene from the area, Minaibiye Dolphin, who spoke to Journalists narrated that the Chiefs about five minutes away from their destination when gunmen in speedboats accosted them on gunpoint and demanded that Chief Opoto be identified among the Chiefs. “And immediately he was identified, Chief Opoto was abducted

“Members of the community have been worried about  the fate of their traditional rulers”. 

Mr. Dolphin also called on relevant security agencies and the Rivers State government to facilitate his release. 

The Rivers State Police Command has been contacted over the incident in the state have been reached on the incident.