Seven Killed as Rival Cult Groups Clash in Benue State

Seven persons have been re­portedly killed and several others injured after two ri­val cult groups clashed in Otuk­po area of Benue State.

According to eyewitnesses, the crisis started last Saturday close to the Saint Francis Col­lege, Otukpo, over power su­premacy between two deadly rival cult groups.

The violence later spread to Oiji Street, Sabon-Gari and Oji­ra areas of the same town.

According to an eyewitness, “It all started like a joke, when some young men were initially throwing fireworks at one an­other but within a short time, they pulled out guns and it be­came a serious affair.

“For two days, young men re­siding around Saint Francis Col­lege (Ogwonuigbahapa) Oiji Street, Sabon-Gari and Ojira engaged one another in a battle to take over control of the town.

“They shot at each other in the name of belonging to rival cult groups and people were scampering all over the town for safety for fear of being hit by stray bullets.

“It took the intervention of the Police, who drafted men into Otukpo to check further spread of the crisis, but before then, several persons had been killed while many others sus­tained bullet injuries.”

Meanwhile, the Secre­tary General of the Opiatoha K’Idoma, the mother umbrella body of Idoma sons and daugh­ters, Chief Adoka Adaji, has to­tally condemned the bloody acts as well the resultant killings.

He further appealed to the se­curity agencies to check further escalation of the crisis.

Adaji said: “We condemn in strong terms the cult related cri­sis in Idoma land which result­ed in the killing of over seven persons over the weekend in Otukpo.

“We urge security agencies to take steps to apprehend the mastermind of the crisis and those responsible for recent kidnap incidents in Idoma land before the situation gets out of hand.”

According to the Benue State, Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Assistant Superinten­dent, ASP, Moses Yamu, the Po­lice confirmed three deaths as at the time of filling this report.

“We can confirm three deaths, another three with gunshot wounds, while eight persons were arrested, four lo­cally-made pistols were also re­covered,” the Senior officer dis­closed.