The popular market at Kaa Waterfront in Kaa Community in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State came under heavy attack involving explosives early Saturday morning.

Unconfirmed reports have it that youths allegedly from neighbouring Ajakajak and Isiokwan Communities in Andoni LGA attacked the community using dangerous weapons such as dynamites and gun fire.

Youth leader of Kaa Community, Nunaata Lekia Frank said goods belonging to traders at the popular market worth millions of naira were destroyed in the attack which occurred at the early hours of Saturday, February 18, 2023.

According to Frank, a disagreement between youths of Kaa and Ajakajak Communities was responsible for the fracas, which started when some youths from the Andoni axis crossed the river separating both communities and at about 6am, chasing everyone and destroying properties.

When Kaa youths attempted to resist them, the assailants threw explosives such as dynamites and fired gun shots at them, ravaging the entire community.

Kristina Reports was yet to ascertain if there were casualties from the attack as at the time of this report.

The Kaa youth leader noted that the rift was caused by an attack on one of the community youths, who sold diesel to an Andoni youth but the Andoni refused to pay him rather while demanding for his money, he, in company of his brother, were attacked by his debtor and other youths from Andoni.

He stated that the people of Kaa Community are peaceful and want peace to be promoted in the area.

Our sources say calmness has been restored to the area with the intervention of security operatives reported called in by the Chairmen of Andoni and Khana LGAs, Erastus Awortu and Dr Thomas Bariere.

The community members are demanding that their properties, which were destroyed worth millions of naira, be restored or compensated for.

Meanwhile, the President General of Obolo Youth Coalition (OYC) Worldwide, Ijonama Mkpon Amon has called on his kinsmen from Ajakajak and Isiokwan Communities as well as Kaa Community to sheathe their swords and maintain calmness, informing that the relevant government and security agencies were working to restore lasting peace in the area.

“I am using this medium to call on the youths of my community, Ajakajak, in particular, and the adjoining communities in Isiokwan in Andoni Local Government Area and our counterpart from Kaa in Khana Local Government Area to sheathe their swords in the interest of peace.

“I am making this appeal as a concerned citizen of Rivers State and a youth leader to forestall further breakdown of law arising from the lingering fracas within the above-mentioned areas.

Amon corroborated Frank’s narrative that the fracas at the Kaa Waterfront was “as a result of a little misunderstanding between youths from my community, Ajakajak and Kaa Communities”.

He commended Awortu and Dr Bariere for their prompt responses and efforts at alerting the security agencies and deploying military men to the scene of the crisis to bring the situation under control, while calling on the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and the State Commissioner of Police, Effiong Okon, to, as a matter of urgency, wade into the matter.

He further called on them to “station some JTF men at the Kaa waterfront to avoid escalation of the crisis as we are working to call for a joint meeting between the two communities for lasting solutions to the situation”.