Alleged Assassination Attempt: Paramount Ruler Seeks Police Protection

Trouble is brewing in Somiari-Ama Community of Port Harcourt Local
Government Area following alleged assassination attempt on the life of
the paramount ruler, Chief (Barr) Tamunokuro Alex Amiejubodie Somiari.

Chief Somiari who disclosed this to journalists in his palace on
Thursday, said unknown gunmen broke into his house in the early hours
of last Tuesday, demanding to see a certain ‘Barrister’.

He said when the gunmen could not place whether he was the man they
were looking for, they shot in the air, prompting him to run and hid
in a corner of the compound.  Believing he could be sleeping in his
bedroom, he said the gunmen rushed to the front door and opened fire,
shattering the door.  He said as God would have it, his wife and
children who were awaken by the commotion, laid flat on the floor as
the bullets flew past them.

The paramount ruler who is the Traditional Head of Amiejubodie War
Canoe House of Ogoloma, said the gunmen left the compound, satisfied
that he must have been killed or seriously injured.

Chief Somiari who recently secured a court victory after a protracted
tussle for the ownership of Somiari-Ama Community, alleged that
rumours had been rife that some hoodlums are planning to invade the
community.

He said he had credible evidence to believe that the alleged attempt
on his life and the planned attack on the community was the handiwork
of his opponents who were not favored by the judgment of the court
which declared him the undisputed ruler of Somiari-Ama community.

The paramount ruler said he had already reported the gunmen attack to
the State Police Command, appealing on the Commissioner of Police to
come to his aid and that of the community to protect their lives and
properties.