Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
A clash between two deadly cult groups in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, has claimed the lives of two people.
The state’s Police Command had identified cultism as one of the crimes that has attracted young Bayelsans and has expressed worry over the rate people are recruited into cultism.
According to investigations, the bloody clash was between suspected members of Icelanders and Greenlanders at Samphino Road, Kpansia and Biogbolo and the sporadic shootings during the clash led to apprehension among residents of Yenagoa.
Sources said the death of a suspected cultist, identified as Jeremiah Uche, led to the reprisal attack at Biogbolo, leading to the death of another suspected cultist whose identity is still unknown.
An eyewitness account said the deceased at the Biogbolo clash was first shot in the chest at close range before he was given several machete cuts.
Spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, who confirmed the incident, stated that the incident occurred, on Monday night, at about 8:00p.m.
According to him, the Police have been treating the incident as a murder case and investigation has commenced though no suspect has been arrested.
According to Butswat, “At about 8:00p.m on Monday rival cult groups clashed in Yenagoa and it led to the shooting of one Jeremiah Uche Christian aged 26 years. The body has been recovered and deposited at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa. ”
“Another unidentified body, with multiple and deadly machete blows to the head and various parts of the body, was recovered at Yenezuigene. The body was machetes beyond recognition. His age is estimated to be around 20years,” the spokesman said.