Group urges IGP to avert communal clash in Rivers community

Members of the Tobin Chieftaincy Family in the Bonny area of Rivers State have called on the Inspector General of Police ,Olatunji Disu to move swiftly to prevent communal clash in the town .

Members of the Brown Chieftaincy Family ,led by and Engr. Dagogo Lambert Brown and the Tobin group ,led by Elder Darlington Adango Tobin have since some years ago involved in disagreement over Cultural Rites Performance 

The family also condemned the arrest of their leader ,Elder Darlington Adango Tobin ,despite his people being at the receiving end of orchestrated violence on their compound on the 22nd of August 2026,when the family was preparing for the annual rite 

Tobin family in the petition to the IGP also accused the local divisional police in the area of allowing itself to be used in the attack on their compound on the it was supposed to perform the cultural rite of the town 

They also claimed that the Brown Family had threatened that they would not be allowed to perform in the yearly cultural Rites in Bonny Island 

The Tobin family noted that " On this occasion, the Eremini and Fongu Mini Festival began on the 1/8/2026 to end on the 30/9/2026 and participant or host cutcacross the Bonny Kingdom. 

While Brown House has the 28/8/2026 as the day scheduled for them to perform or play, the Tobin House has the 22/8/2026, for their Eremini and Fongu Mini outing." 

" Butto our dismay, threats and rumors began flying around that the Brown House was planning to attack the Tobin House and prevent them from performing the Eremini. 

These threats orconcern got to the Local Government Council Chairman of the Bonny Area Council who invited both parties for briefing" the Tobin family claimed 

They also continued that " in the presence of security operatives, to admonish them whileemphasizing that he cannot and does not have the legal basis to ask the Tobin Chieftaincy House Owu-Ogbo to perform or not toperform in the on-going Eremini and Fongu Mini Festival.

At the same time, amidst these threats by Dagogo Lambert Brown hhimself and his faction of the Brown House, the Bonny Chiefs’Council being the highest custodian of the Ibani native law, custom and tradition as applicable to the Finima Community of Bonny Kingdom." 

According to the family " The Press Statement by the Bonny Chiefs’ Council was released on the 17/8/2026, where they clearly and unequivocally stated thus:“For the avoidance of doubt, Tobin Chieftaincy House is one of the 34 recognized Chieftaincy Houses in Bonny Kingdom. 

By virtue of its status as one of the Houses that constitute Bunny kingdom, Tobin Chieftaincy House has the legitimate right to observe, preserve and perform its established cultural andtraditional festival, including the Eremini and Fongu Mini

Festivals and its Masquerade Display, in accordance with thecustoms, culture and tradition of Bonny Kingdom”.

The Tobin family is also concerned that despite the intervention of the IG Monitoring Team at the Force Headquarters in Abuja,there family compound was still attacked ,many members injured and priorities destroyed on the day that they were billed to perform .

They stressed that " Shockingly and to the greatest disappointment of all times, the

Tobin House, who have prepared to perform and display today, 22/8/2026 and who had also gone the extra mile to write to the Police, DSS, and NSCDC to be on ground for the security of lives and property and to ensure that the cultural festival is carried out in a peaceful atmosphere, and even provided logistics for the presence of these security agencies of the Government, came under attack by members of the Dagogo

Lambert Brown led faction of the Brown House at the early hours of between 3:00 a.m to 4:00 a.m on Saturday the 22/8/2026, the day scheduled for their Eremini outing.

Several members of the Tobin House including the Chairman Wariopusenibo Darlington Tobin and Wariopusenibo GoldenTobin suffered various degrees of injuries and wounds on their persons as well as damage to their properties."

"We are also further concerned about the unprofessionalconduct of CSP Mukhtar Mahdi, the DPO of the Finima DivisionalPolice Station, who has in all events, actions or inaction acted

contrary to his oath of Office." the family also said