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- Solar water pumps make a debut
- Organised resistance to waterfront demolitions grows
- An update on the forced evictions in Port Harcourt
- Killings in Bundu-Ama Community as residents resist demolitions
- Video: Forced evictions in Njemanze
- Njemanze waterfront demolished
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- Women turn to prayers to halt waterfront demolitions
- Fear of demolition grips Ikoku traders in Port Harcourt
- No food, no voice - Women speak from Otuasega
- Displacement and conflict - healing the wounds
- Of Oil and Water - 35 years of oil exploration in Biseni
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- Fighting for a voice in Akala-Olu
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You are here: > What We Do > Our work in the Delta > Killings in Bundu-Ama Community as residents resist demolitions
Killings in Bundu-Ama Community as residents resist demolitions
Nigerian police and army personnel opened fire on demonstrators in Bundu-Ama waterfront community on Monday 12 October as they tried to protect their homes from demolition by the Rivers State Government.
At least five people are now feared dead and at least seven others suffered gunshot wounds after the incident at around 11.00am local time.
Tensions have been rising in Bundu-Ama since government officials were stopped from entering the community on 6 October as they tried to 'enumerate' and mark properties for pending demolition.
The Bundu-Ama area is being demolished as part of a government drive to turn Port Harcourt into a 'Garden City', in this case to make way for an entertainment complex to be built by the Silverbird Entertainment Group.
According to witnesses scores of police came through the area in armoured personnel carriers using tear gas to disperse the protesters before opening fire on the assembled crowd which included women and children.
Sporadic shooting was heard in the hours afterwards as the police and military accompanied the officials into the narrow alleyways to carry out the assessment and enumeration excersize.
Residents complained of beatings, looting and harassment by security forces while officials marked properties for imminent demolition.
A number of bodies were reportedly taken away in police vehicles and over 20 people were arrested, including the head of Bundu-Ama community Ada Williams who has been released but now fears for his life.
The Government was quick to deny any deaths but later claimed that a fire-fight started when former militants started shooting at the assembled police and military.
The killings come despite a court order restraining the government from taking any further action demolishing waterfronts in Port-Harcourt. The case was bought to the courts by local Chiefs some months ago and had previously ruled the demolitions unlawful.
The Federal High court met on October 13 and has ordered an investigation into the killings.
The council for Okirika Chiefs, acting on behalf of the people of Bundu-Ama, have asked the court to issue an ultimatum to the government to halt all arrests and demolitions until further notice.
The Rivers State Government has signalled that this legal restraining order may be respected and the demolitions halted but this is still unclear.
Thousands of community members, dressed in black, gathered outside the court under the watchful eye of an Armoured Personnel Carrier stationed close to the court building.
There are serious concerns that the killings and continuing drive of demolitions will result in a militant resurgence and threaten the fragile peace that is so elusive in the Delta region.
>> Read news reports on the displacements and demolitions collated in the SDN Newsroom
>> Video documenting the forced evictions in Njemanze community in September/October
>> Slideshow of life in Bundu-Ama Community
