No fewer than three persons were feared dead in Makurdi, Benue State, following last Saturday’s bloody clash among rival cult gangs and members of a vigilante group in the city. Vanguard learned that the clash left about six persons with injuries, including an Indian national (names withheld), who was allegedly shot in the head. According to a source, the fight for supremacy by the cult groups started at the Welfare Quarters area of the city, where no fewer than three persons were shot, including members of the vigilante group who had intervened in the fight. The source said: “They have turned Welfare Quarters into a den of arms wielding cultists. It is unfortunate that law enforcement agencies are turning a blind eye. “Yesterday, the cult groups in the area engaged each other in a bloody fight that left three persons dead, and many injured, while families fled their homes for fear of being killed by arms wielding young men. “In a bid to stop an escalation of the fight, the vigilante group on duty in the area tried to stop members of the gangs but some of them were shot.”
State Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent Austin Ezeani, confirmed the incident, saying police recorded two deaths.