BY FELIX KOKORI
BENIN CITY:. The raging bloody cult clashes in Benin City, the Edo state capital, assumed a frightening and dramatic dimension last weekend.
Information scooped up by our crime reporter revealed that three suspects who allegedly shot dead the son of a serving police officer in Benin City recently are now on the police wanted list, following information volunteered by a dissatisfied inner member of a.particular cult group.
The three suspects, James Omoregbe.Frank Idahor and Michael Eromosele are believed to be members of the Black Axe Confraternity which is waging a bloody running battle with members of the Eiye Confraternity.
According to a reliable source who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, the three suspects.were on a mission on the orders of the leadership of the Black Axe Confraternity to eliminate a rival cult member who was believed to have led the killing of five of its members in the past few days.
It was gathered that one of the three suspects, James Omoregbe who had been a relunctant member of the Black Axe Confraternity was mandated to carry out the killing to prove his loyalty and allegiance to the Fraternity.
It however turned out that instead of the actual target who is also one of the sons of the serving police officer, the squad allegedly shot dead his elder brother who incidentally, is also a Black Axe Confraternity member.
The failure to eliminate the actual target is said to have infuriated the cult leaders, which prompted one of them to offer vital information on the bizarre killing to the police authorities in Benin City.
The three suspects currently on the run, are wanted by the police just as sources revealed that they are also being hunted by their own cult group for failure to accomplish the mission.
No fewer than 10 persons have died in the past one week in the renewed bloody clash between two rival cult groups – Eiye and Aiye Confraternities. The frequent violent clashes which the Police Command in Edo state is yet to find a solution to the accompanying mayhem, have their roots in the fierce struggle for supremacy and control of sphere of influence.
Across the state, cultists of various stripes act with impunity – killing, raping and maiming victims while leaving in their trails,tales of deaths, woes and destruction.
Cult wars and gang violence have exacerbated the climate of insecurity and fear in the polity. More worrying is that the menace has become so widespread that young people are being forcibly recruited into the fold , with the police apparently helpless in the face of the onslaughts.
