Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, I am Comrade Bara J. A. Tobin, the Interim Chairman of the Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) House Opu-Asawo Youth Association. Based on the current events in Finima Community, I have decided to make this announcement. Beside me are the Vice Chairman, Mr. Alfred Tobin, and Secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Misoala Tobin, of the Opu-Asawo of the Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) House of Finima in Bonny Kingdom.
Today, we have deemed it fit to tell the world what we are passing through in Finima Community. Over these years we have tried to extend the hand of peace to our sister houses for us to be able to function as one people but in the recent past we are beginning to see that the relationship that is being created over time has yielded nothing as we see attacks being carried out on our people by the Buoye Omuso (Brown) House leaders and their youths in general.
On the 18th of April, 2020, one Mr. Nengi Tobin was asked to go round and disseminate information through the town crying medium (Ekere) by the Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) Chieftaincy House and he was attacked by one Mr. Idatonye Lambert Brown, Oliver Brown, Ngo Brown, Asolia Brown, and many others at the Zone 2 car park in Finima Community. Be that as it may, the executives of the Opu-Asawo of the great Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) House approached the crime scene to investigate the reason why these attacks were carried out on our youth. Only for us to get there and meet the Executives-in-Council present with Tammy Martins Brown, as the Chairman of the Asawo of Brown House. He claimed responsibility for the incident and asked us to leave without collecting the Ekere which was seized.
As the case may be and not actually knowing the problem that actually occurred, we, as a people, already advised our youths to go about and carry out the second information dissemination to the people of Finima Community using a different Ekere only for us to see Mr. Tammy Brown stand up in our midst that the youths of Brown House who were gathered there should attack, fight and kill Tobin House people, and they carried out the attacks on us that night, which was on the 18th of April, 2020. But we thank God that after that attack nobody died.
Due to the demand of the population in Finima Community based on the Covid-19 hunger situation, the Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) House deemed it fit to carry out the sharing of palliatives to the people of Finima Community to ease the tension and at the same time to help ease the stress and hunger in the community. In furtherance of this, they also requested that the same Mr. Nengi Tobin and Mr. Sofiri Tobin go about and disseminate the information with respect to the sharing of the palliatives that was about to be shared the second time.
This was with the understanding that the Director of SSS, Mr. Ajayi had directed that nobody should interfere with the process through which we want to use in sharing the palliatives, given that the Brown House, on the 12th of April, 2020, had already done theirs and even using the medium of knacking Ekere in the community by disseminating the same kind of information and nobody interfered in their own process. He directed that nobody should interfere in our own process. But rather, we, as a people, saw another attack by the Brown House leadership and her youths on the 4th of May, 2020.
We want it to be on record that even the Finima Divisional Police Station has not been able to handle the issues reported to them since on the 19th of April, 2020 because after the attack on our subject, Mr. Nengi Tobin, the complainant (Mr. Nengi Tobin) registered the issue in the station where we were expecting the Police to carry out its function. Only to realize that the same Mr. Nengi Tobin was beaten up in the presence of the two police officers who went to arrest his assailants on the 19th of April, 2020. We, as the Opu-Asawo, had to write to the Police to ensure that they go about their normal duties. But from the look of things it appears the Brown House may also be influencing the Police and intimidating the Police with their craft. That may be why the Police has not been able to discharge its duties and functions effectively.
That being said, we, as the Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) House Opu-Asawo Youth Association is calling on the Federal Government, the National Security Adviser, the Rivers State Government, the Bonny Local Government, and the security agencies in Bonny Local Government Area to come to our aid because the attacks on our people is becoming unbearable. Having said that, we expect that the government will take full charge of the situation and also discharge its constitutional responsibilities and do what they can to restore peace and sanity to Finima Community.
Having said that we want to also use this medium to call on the Amanyanabo and Natural Ruler of Grand Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty, King (Dr.) Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, CON, JP, Perekule XI, and the traditional leadership of Bonny Kingdom to ensure that they intervene in this matter. Thank you.
Kristina TV: So far, has the police made any arrests?
Tobin Opu-Asawo: The Police, so far, has not communicated to us on any issue in respect to the matters reported to them. As we are talking to you right now, the Police is still yet to inform us on how they have handled the matter. That is why we wrote a correspondence dated 4th May, 2020, the same day in which the Brown House youths being led by Tammy Martins Brown and his Executives-in-Council and foreign bodies attacked us that same day. So, because of the nature of the Police in Finima they have not being able to carry out their respective duties. That is why it has up to this point.
Kristina TV: There were insinuations that some of the parties brought in cultists, some people even said it was the Tobin House that brought in the thugs to fight the people from Brown House. Is this true?
Tobin Opu-Asawo: Let it also be on record that these so-called foreign bodies that were brought into Finima to assist the Brown House fight their cause are the same set of people that we successfully ensured that they were no more in Finima during the time when I was the Vice Chairman of Finima Youth Congress. We worked with the security operatives like Mr. Pinas, who was the DSS boss and other security commanders present then. We worked with them to ensure that we eradicate all this menace in the community because as at then, when we came into office, there were a lot of killings and these killings were being done by most of these hooligans who we saw on the 4th of May, 2020 they accompanied the Brown House to the Opuwari car park where they attacked our youths.
Kristina TV: Now, given that the Attoni, Brown and Tobin Houses are essentially brothers and sisters, what advice would you have for your brothers from the Brown House about this issue?
Tobin Opu-Asawo: Well, as peace-loving people, we always try to extend the hand of peace, as peace-loving people we always to ensure that there is peace. In fact, as Comrade Bara J. A. Tobin, I, as a person have been calling for peace in this community between the Brown, Tobin and Attoni because this community is made up of three chieftaincy houses and with peace we can co-exist. This is because nobody, I repeat, nobody is the owner of Finima. The three chieftaincy houses, the Tobin, Brown and Attoni are independent houses and have equal rights in this community. So, it is only through peace that we can actually achieve that oneness. So, I am calling on each and everyone in the community to ensure that we pursue peace that will last forever.
Cover Photo by YB Photography: Konibo ye Awanta (Tobin) House gig
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