Monarch explains why suspected cultists burnt his palace

The paramount ruler of Bua Boue Kingdom in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers state, Dr. Taalo Tornwe, the Mene Bua Boue 1V has for the first time revealed why his palace was set ablaze by suspected rampaging cultists in the community three months ago.

Dr. Tornwe in an exclusive interview with the on Monday in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers state said that the suspected rampaging cultists burnt down his palace because of his hard stance against cultism in his kingdom.

The royal father explained the various steps he has taken in the fight against cultism in his kingdom since 2014, leading to the signing of a peace pact on October 28, 2017 which brought about peace in the area in the last one and half years.

He added that he was therefore, very surprised at the resurgence of cult-related violence in the area, which has claimed more than 10 lives and resulted in the destruction of property worth millions of naira destroyed.

“I don’t have a palace and where to stay anymore. Anytime, we arrest these cultists, the following day they would be released by the police. I’ve listed several members of the Debam and Dewell cult groups operating in the area to the security agencies, but nothing was done,” he stated.

According to him, a certain member of his kingdom, whose identity he refuses to disclose and who is also a supporter of one of the cult gangs instigated the cultists to set his palace ablaze, blaming the king for been behind the cult members travails with security agencies.

“One of my subjects, who is also a lawyer, a day after my security stakeholders meeting held another meeting with the cultists where he revealed all our strategies and told them that I was the one responsible for their arrests by the police. He is also the one bailing them out of the police cells,” he added.

In spite of the setback, the traditional ruler however, reiterated his resolve to intensify the war against cultism in the kingdom.

“I’ve constituted a group of youth from across the kingdom whose mandate is to identify and arrest suspected cultists in the area, and hand them over to security agencies.

This time around, I will follow up any case of any arrested cultist to its logical conclusion,” he vowed.

He appealed to the federal and state governments to facilitate the building of the promised police station in the kingdom for which land has been provided by the communities, saying that such a step would help to stamp out cultism and other heinous crimes in the area.

“The governor, during the last electioneering campaigns promised to build us a police station and we have provided the land for it,” he disclosed.