Two young men, identified as Pele and Samuel Risky, were on Thursday, January 23, 2020, killed and five houses burnt in Ughwrughele community of Agbarho, Ughelli North local government area of Delta state following a community crises involving two factions over youth leadership tussle.
It was gathered that the Ughwrughele community chairman, Mr. Oliver, has been occupying the chairmanship seat for over twelve years, ruling from outside the community.
The community youths, it was learnt, had earlier written a later to the community Council of Elders to prevail on Oliver to drop the seat as chairman and allow some other persons take over, but the letter was thrown off by the elders without acting on it.
A source, who pleaded anonymity, told Nation that the incumbent chairman, who was not comfortable with the agitation from a section of the community to remove him, mobilised youths from Agbarho community to attack the Ughwrughele youth that led to the shooting of late Samuel Risky.
The source said as the attackers were escaping, one of them was killed by the other faction led by Bomboy Otubrotu.
The development, it was learnt, led to burning of houses in the community.
According to the source: “The incumbent chairman learnt that the move to remove him as the chairman was becoming so clear, and in attempt to averts the move, he mobilised youths from a sister community Agbarho and in the process, a young man from the community, Samuel Risky was shot dead.
“It was after Samuel Risky has been shot dead that the Ughwrughele community youths in a reprisal attack, chased those youths from Agbarho and one of them, Pele, native of Ovu community, but resident in Agbarho was killed while they were trying to escape from the community.
John Oji, the Ughwrughele community president general, who was also contacted on phone, confirmed the incident and said that measures had been put in place to restore normalcy.
He informed that some of the persons who had caused the crises has been arrested.
Calls put to the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Agbarho Divisional Police Station, and text message sent were not responded to.
But a junior police officer, who pleaded anonymity, also confirmed the incident and said police were already on top of the the issue.
