In Bayelsa, Southern Nigeria, gunmen invaded Peremabiri community and set 20 houses ablaze.
Local reports say the gunmen are in a fight for superiority with some militant leaders in the area with the most recently attacked being a man named Ogunbos.
Ogunbos, a militant leader was attacked in December 25th 2020 and his house was razed by the gunmen who fired sporadically.
At least 50 speedboats ferried the gunmen to the community in an attempt to take control from Ogunbos.
Locals have gone into hiding as the sporadic gunshots have hardly ceased in the community.
“The gunmen came in over 50 speedboats shooting sporadically to gain entrance into the community. People had no other option than to run into the bush for safety,” a local was quoted as saying.
“Our intelligence report has it that the gunmen have vowed to remain in the community and ensure that Ogunbos and his followers never return to the community.
“I was told that the Christmas day attack on Ogunbos’s house was to drive him out of the town. And that today’s attack is aimed at taking total control of the community,” he added.
Bayelsa State is one of Nigeria’s oil producing states and attacks get rampant in tussles for local dominance between rival militant groups.
It is not clear yet if there were casualties in the attack.