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| Nigerian police. File photo |
No fewer than six persons were killed following a clash between two rival cult groups in Calabar on Sunday and an attack by gunmen on some communities in the Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State.
Two persons were reportedly killed during the clash between the Scorpion and Skylo cult groups in Nassarawa-Bacoco, a Hausa settlement in Calabar.
An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity,said that there was a misunderstanding between the cult groups, which degenerated into violence, and in the process, one person was killed.
The eyewitness stated, โI donโt know the cause of the disagreement but it led to the death of one person. After the police got to know about it, they came and made some arrest.
โAfter the arrest, there was a reprisal that led to the death of another person. But the perpetrators were arrested at a police checkpoint on the highway, while they were fleeing from Calabar.โ
The chief of Nassarawa-Bacoco, Alhaji Sanni Baba Gombe, confirmed the incident and told our correspondent, โWe are getting to the root of the matter with the police Anti-Cultism and Kidnapping Squad in Calabar. I cannot speak further on it now.โ
The attack on the Biase communities reportedly resulted in the death of four persons.
The affected communities are Egbor, Abanwan and Ipene, in which some houses were also set ablaze
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incidents.
โThere was a clash between two cult groups, Scorpion and Skylo, and two persons were killed,โ Ugbo stated.
She also said two suspects had been arrested in connection with the clash as they were trying to escape from Calabar after the incident, adding that investigation was ongoing.
On the killings in Egbor, Abanwan and Ipene, she said security operatives, including personnel of the Police Mobile Force and the military, were already on ground to bring the situation under control.
