The Nigeria Police Force says it is focused on restoring normalcy in Finima Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State after the fracas between the Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) House and Buoye Omuso (Brown) Houses of Finima in Bonny Kingdom.

The Police further stated that there will be no sacred cows to spare in the course of discharging its constitutional responsibilities of enforcing law and order and protection of the lives and properties of the citizens.

Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Finima Police Station, Bashir Kontagora, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), told Kristina Reports in his office in Finima that though it was challenging containing the security upheavals in the area, his men were up to the task and will ensure that Finima Community remains safe and secure for citizens to go about their normal businesses.

He further explained that the suspected key players in the fracas that occurred last week involving attacks of some persons who were disseminating information using the traditional medium (Ekere) have been invited by the Police to explain their roles, stating that there will be no sacred cows in the process of unraveling the root cause of the incident that threatened the peace of the serene community.

“In the course of our investigation, where any crime has been committed or security breached in anyway, we will not hesitate to arrest the suspects and make them to face the full wrath of the law. We are determined to ensure that Finima remains peaceful and safe for people to go about their normal businesses and anyone who tries to undermine the peace being enjoyed here will have the Police to deal with.”

Last week Monday, two persons believed to be members of the Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) House, who repotedly went round the community to announce the planned disbursement of palliatives by the Tobin House to members of the community, were allegedly attacked by persons suspected to be members of the Buoye Omuso (Brown) House.

When contacted by Kristina Reports, the Secretary of the Brown House, Christopher Airigha Brown, who spoke through the Chairman of the Asawo (senior youths) of Brown House, said the Tobin House breached an agelong communal code which required them to obtained permission from them before using the traditional medium of summoning their people, which is the gong, popularly known as Ekere in the local parlance.

But in a swift reaction, the Chairman of the Opu-Asawo of Tobin House, Bara Tobin dismissed such assertion, saying no such code exists as all three chieftaincy houses of Finima in Bonny Kingdom were independent of each other, noting that for centuries the three families have cohabited without any such custom.

When asked the origin of the said code, Brown could not say when such a code was established, stating that “I grew up to know about it,” and also could cite any instance where any member of the Attoni or Tobin House approached the Brown House to obtained such purported approval to use the Ekere.

Finima Community, one of the communities that make up Bonny LGA, is on the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean onn the edge of the Bonny River and is one of the host communities to multinationals, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant, Shell Nigeria oil and gas terminal, and Exxon Mobil river terminal, among others.

The Finima Police chief said, in the wake of the crisis that almost engulfed the community, Police and the Military intervened to avert a security crisis there and restored normalcy, maintaining that his office was investigating the immediate and remote causes of the incident and will not spare anyone indicted in the matter.

He called on indigenes and residents of Finima Community to be law abiding and embrace peace, pointing out that no meaning progress or development can take place in the midst of crisis, assuring that the Nigeria Police Force will do its best to ensure the safety and security of the people of the area as they go about their daily activities, advising everyone to adhere to the COVID-19 protocols regarding personal hygiene, social distancing and avoid any form of gathering during this period.