Cultists kill five as mob beats two to death in Bayelsa

At least five suspected cultists have lost their lives in a renewed cult war in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, in a week of violence, sorrow and tears.

Two young men were beheaded by suspected cultists in the metropolis following a battle for supremacy between the Greenlanders and Debam, also known as Bobos.

The three others were also killed in Obele, Saint Peters Church and Swali area of the state capital.

It was gathered that the clash started with the killing of a senior ranking officer of the Bobos by the rival group on Sunday.

He was said to have been slaughtered and his neck severed after his assailants had inflicted several machete cuts on him.

A member of the rival group was cut with machete to death in front of his church on Swali Road, while others were killed in the Obele area during a clash between the groups.

The killings caused pandemonium among residents of the area as most of them were seen moving out of the troubled zone, while the suspected cultists were moving about with weapons.

A source confirmed that the killing of a leader of the Greenlanders was responsible for the renewed cult war.

Our correspondent gathered that the killings started on Obele Street and Saint Peters Road and later led to the murder of two men in the Akaba community.

Meanwhile, a mob action has claimed the lives of two teenagers accused of being armed robbers in the city.

One of them was stoned to death in front of the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Nikton Road, Kpansia, a suburb of Yenagoa.

He was said to have been chased by an angry mob to the front of the church after he and two other gang members allegedly robbed some residents on Samtax Road.

The other victim was beaten to death at Yenizuegene, along the Mbiama-Yenagoa Road, after he was said to have been caught snatching a phone from a lady.

He was said to have given up the ghost after he was pummelled by the angry mob.

Eyewitnesses said the young man had snatched a phone from a lady but was caught by the mob, who descended on him.

Contacted on the development, the spokesman for the Bayelsa State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the deaths, saying, “The police have responded by conducting repeated raids on black spots in the area and strategising on how to apprehend the ring leaders.”

He, however, decline comments on the number of casualties, saying the police had not recovered the corpses.