On August 17, 2007, the Rivers State Government imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Port Harcourt following two days of fierce street battles between security forces and heavily armed gang members that left dozens dead.
After the tragic incident, authorities declared one-week curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m, asking residents not to move across the city of Port Harcourt.
The violence began in the early hours after troops of the Joint Task Force, JTF, launched dawn raids on suspected militia hideouts in the Makoba district.
The operation targeted the base of militia leader Soboma George, head of a gang known as the Outlaws.
“We were lucky we got information on the hideout of Soboma George and we went to attack it and cordon it off,” said Maj. Sagir Musa, JTF spokesman. “In the process there was an exchange of fire between the militants and the troops.”
The fighting quickly spread to Borokiri, Creek Road, and Marine Base. Residents reported helicopter gunships firing on suspected gang positions while young men on motorbikes responded with automatic weapons and dynamite.
Newsmen reported that no fewer than 40 people died in the street fighting. The Rivers State Government later put the death toll at at least 32, most of them militia fighters, including George.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, however denied that George had been killed, stating: “George is alive and well.”
