Benin City – Two mothers have been killed by suspected cultists at different locations in Benin City in a renewal secret cult clash in Edo State.
The two mothers were killed when the suspected cultists attacked the homes of their targets.
The women were killed around the Murtala Muhammed Way and the New Benin Area, respectively, in Benin City.
While the one at Murtala Muhammed Way was killed for lieing over the whereabouts of her son, the other was killed for failure of the cultists to locate her son at home.
An eye witness account had it that the armed men stormed the Virginia Junction by the Murtala Muhammed Way at about 8:00 p.m. on Monday, in search of their target, said to be a 20-year-old boy.
They were said to have first gone to the store belonging to the mother of their target but when they queried the woman about the whereabouts of her son, she told them that she had not set eyes on him for over two weeks.
They were said to have gone to the residence of the boy and found him at home, where they shot and killed him.
Angered that the woman had lied to them, they went back to her shop and also shot her dead.
A similar incident happened at New Benin, where the suspected cultists shot the mother of their target when they could not find him at home.
An eye witness said the woman was shot in the eye and died almost immediately.
Over 20 persons have allegedly died within the past three weeks since the renewed cult war started in the Edo capital.
The reprisal killings were said to have started immediately after the elections, when a member of a cult group was killed during the polls.
The spokesman of the state police command, Mr. Stephen Onwochei, told newsmen that some arrests have been made.
When asked about the number of persons that have been killed since the renewed war started, he said; “I cannot give you the accurate figure but we are compiling and once we are done, we will parade them. We are still investigating.
Meanwhile, two students of the Edo State College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi in Ovia South-West local government area of Edo State have been shot dead by unknown gunmen.
The students were ambushed on their way to lecture hall, on Tuesday morning. Dependable sources stated that following the incident, the institution has postponed, by one week, the semester’s examination scheduled to commence this week.
Students over the killing of the college formed a barricade on Benin-Iguobazuwa Road in protest of their colleagues.
It took the intervention of Policemen from Iguobazuwa Police Division to bring the situation under control.
Provost of the institution, Dr. Friday Obasogie stated that the students were on their way to school when they were ambushed and killed by the gunmen.
“As I speak with you I with the DPO in Iguobazuwa, the two students live in the community. They were going to school.
“The perpetrators ran out of the bush, attacked them and ran back to the bush.
“It is cult clash, you know that it has been in Benin for over a week now. The police have brought the situation under control.
“The semester’s examination has been postponed by one week to enable the tension die down”. The Provost stated.
Contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Edo Police Command, DSP Stephen Onwochei stated that the police in the area have commenced investigation.
DSP Onwochei assured that those behind the killings would never escape justice as a manhunt for them has been launched.
Meanwhile, the alleged fresh grave discovered inside a classroom at Iguodala Primary School, Benin, last Monday has been discovered to be an empty grave.
The spokesman for Edo Police Command DSP Stephen Onwochei stated that the police with other relevant bodies publicly excavated the grave and found nothing in it.
He however noted that the police are making efforts to arrest those behind the act with a view to finding out their motive.
It would be recalled that residents of Benin City had in our report last Wednesday expressed fears over possible spill over of the ongoing cult crisis to nearby campuses and university communities in Edo State.
They called on security agents and other relevant bodies in the state to intervene with a view to resolving the Francas.
