Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, has warned warring groups in Choba that the government would no longer tolerate any form of violence in the community.
Speaking during a visit to the community on Friday, Wike warned that anybody arrested in connection with killing in the community will rot in jail.
He handed down a one week ultimate to the paramount ruler in the community to reconcile all warring groups.
Wike also appealed to the people of Choba to join forces with the government to restore peace and security in the state.
The governor’s position was contained in a series of tweets on his verified handle.
The tweets read:
“I won’t come here again. You have to listen to the voice of reason at this time. Enough is enough. We shall no longer tolerate form of violence in Choba.
“We have made some arrests and police have commenced investigating the security situation. Anybody who is linked to killing in the area would be brought to Justice. Nobody will bring you out of detention once you are linked to the insecurity in Choba.
“Paramount Ruler of Choba Community, I give you one week to reconcile all the groups in the area. By next week I will meet with the leaders, chiefs and youth leaders to ensure that we have lasting peace in the area.
“If I was a cultist, I wouldn’t have been a Governor. I was a Chairman of the Local Government Area, I was a Chief of Staff and I became a Minister. If I was carrying gun, I wouldn’t have been saddled with those responsibilities.
“Why don’t you want to be like me? Why don’t you have hope that you can be great tomorrow? Why don’t you think that there is a future for you? Why do you want to waste your life. Your mothers had you after 9 or 10 months and the way to pay them is to carry gun to kill innocent people?
“It’s unfortunate the people of Choba community have allowed the name of the community to be dragged down by persons who promote insecurity. I urged you to work with the Rivers State Government to entrench security of lives and property in Choba community.”