Two persons have been reportedly killed during a clash between rival cult groups in Awka, the Anambra State capital.
Nigeriacrime.com gathered that the incident happened at about 11:AM on Friday, June 30, 2023, around Ukwuoji Bus Stop, along Zik’s Avenue in Awka.
Although the reason for the attack is yet to be fully ascertained, the cultists were said to have invaded the area and started shooting into the air in a battle of supremacy.
“The hoodlums numbering about five persons invaded the area in a tinted glass vehicle and started shooting into the air and in the process, shot down their victims and thereafter escaped,” an eyewitness narrated
“We were all here when it happened, and immediately they invaded the area, gunshots started going up in the air, two of their members were shot and everyone scampered to safety, and the other cultists used the opportunity to escape,”
The spokesperson of the State Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, did not confirm the killing but admitted that there were shootings in the area.
“There is no information like the killing of anyone before me. But police operatives have intensified patrols within Awka following the sound of gunshots at the Ukwuoji Bus Stop in Awka. Information gathered at the scene from the eyewitnesses showed it is cult-related,” the PPRO stated.
Meanwhile, a Makurdi Upper Area Court in Benue State, on Friday, ordered the remand of one Idris Abdullahi, 39, who allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint.
The Magistrate, Mrs. Dooshima Ikpambese, ordered that the defendant, a resident of 39, Eri St., North Bank, be kept at the Maximum Correctional Centre, Makurdi, pending advice of the state director of public prosecutions.
The magistrate did not accept the plea of the defendant for want of jurisdiction.
She adjourned the case until July 20, 2023, for mention.
According to the prosecutor, Insp. Veronica Shaagee, the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Makurdi, from C Division, North Bank, Makurdi, on June 27.
Shaagee told the court that Mr. Clement Gele of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, North Bank, Makurdi, reported the case on June 25.
She said that Gele reported that the defendant defiled the minor at gunpoint while she was going to St. Mary’s Catholic Church, North Bank.
Shaagee said that child defilement contravened Section 284 of the Penal Code, Law of Benue State, 2004. Makurdi.