Cult war in Edo State has taken a drastic turn as two men have been shot dead in Benin City, The Standard Gazette has learned.
The renewed war started on 2 April after a final-year student of the University of Benin, simply known as Desmond, was killed by unknown gunmen.
There has been a report of retaliation leading to some persons being killed in various locations of the state.
On 19 April around 9 pm, The Standard Gazette gathered that two persons were shot dead around Ikpoba Hill in Benin City in what seems to be a continuation of the fallout.
According to TSG findings, six men armed with battle axes and guns killed the first victim, identified as “Bobo,” in a drinking spot along Jemila Road, Ikpoba Hill.
The hoodlums first shot into the air to scare the customers at the drinking spot before they attacked their target.
The TSG reliably gathered that the gunmen shot at their targets at close range, killing him on the spot, while others used a battle axe to dismember him before flying the scene to the second victim.
The suspected cultists headed to Osayande Street behind the McDonald Group of Schools near Guinness, Ikpoba Hill in Benin and attacked the second victim, whose identity is unknown at the time of this report.
The Standard Gazette gathered that the unidentified man was shot in the head and died on the spot.
TSG cannot ascertain the location of their third target as it was gathered that the armed men on a rampage hit different places, leaving dead bodies in their wake.
They then fled the scene and headed straight for another target while the body of the slain young man was deposited in Our Clinic mortuary at Ikpoba Hill, Benin City.
Edo State Police Public Relations Officer SP Chidi Nwabuzor confirmed the arrest of 7 suspected secret cult members in Benin City on Wednesday.
Arms and ammunition were recovered. The police say the suspects will be charged in court soon.
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