Gunmen on Saturday attacked the country home of King A J Turner, the Paramount Ruler of Opume, in Ogbia Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa State destroying household furniture and electronics. According to police the motive of the act remains unclear.
The gunmen, numbering about twenty, were said to have stormed the community in two speedboats at about 12:55 am on Saturday. Witnesses state that the gunmen wore military uniforms and black outfits.
Though no life was lost during the attack, which was said to have lasted about three hours, the assailants destroyed properties worth millions of naira.
According to sources speaking with SaharaReporters, the gunmen brutalized the Deputy Chairman of the Community Council of Chiefs before nabbing him from the area. The gunmen forced him to accompany them to a residence of Mr. Turner where they used dynamite to gain entry to his gate.
Mr. Turner, an ally of the former president Goodluck Jonathan, and his family members were not at his home at the time of the incident.
A local resident disclosed that they were woken from their sleep by the sound of explosions and gunfire, but they did not dare to leave the safety of their homes to challenge the assailants.
Bayelsa police command spokesman, Asinim Butswat, said he has yet to be briefed on the incident as he was away at Amassoma on official duty at the time of publication.