How Four persons were killed and many others injured in Benue cult clash

Dare devil fight between two rival cult groups in Wadata area of Makurdi, Benue State, has claimed four lives while many others sustained various degree of gunshots and axe injuries.

According to our Correspondent, while two people were said to have been hacked to death in riverside, one other person was reportedly shot dead at the Wadata police barrack.

Also, another person was gundown at the wadata rice mill, all of Makurdi, the state capital.

An eyewitness told our Correspondent in Makurdi that trouble started when two rival cult gangs the Red and Black in the area engaged in a battle of supremacy which resulted in the said casualties.

The eyewitness who identified himself as Sunday Aboh, explained that the clash started early on morning(Sunday) after the red confraternity engaged one of the blacks in a heated argument, resulting in the fight

He said the argument lead to serious fight and by the time the fight was over, two persons were found dead at the riverside.

Aboh said that another person and his neighbour whose name was given as Emeka, was also killed at Wadata police barracks, Makurdi in Sunday evening after he was attacked by the rival group in retaliation.

Narrating how it all started, Sunday Aboh said: “Sunday morning about 11am, I went to look for my neighbour to collect pressing iron and all of sudden I started hearing sound of gunshots. When I enquired, I was told that cult boys are fighting at the riverside.

“The next minutes, my friend called me to inform me that they have killed Vicks and his second. I couldn’t believe it because I never knew he was a cultist despite our closeness.

“Just this evening we were attending a meeting at the police barrack Wadata, when some of the boys (cult boys) traced Emeka to where he was attending the meeting, attacked and killed him. They also proceeded to the rice mill and kill another person.

“The victims are all my friends, I was even calling one of them on phone to come and see what was happening, only for me to be told that he was among those killed

“As I am talking to you, the area has been deserted . Iam calling on the commissioner of police to deploy his men to the wadata are to avert further killings”, .

Efforts to get Benue State command police public relations officer PPRO CSP Catherine Anene proved abortive as she couldn’t respond to text messages or calls as at the time of filing this report