Cult clash kills eight in 24 hours
…Man loses brother, business
A young Nigerian man, Felix, has lost his elder brother and sole means of livelihood following a violent cult clash in Upper Sakponba, Benin City, Edo State.
Felix, who narrowly escaped death, was caught in the deadly conflict between the Eiye Confraternity and the Vikings Confraternity. His elder brother, Shadrach, was shot dead in broad daylight, and their jointly owned barbershop was set ablaze by Eiye cultists.
According to investigations by our reporters and interviews with their uncle, Mr Paul Ehiorobo, the tragic sequence of events began on 26 October 2024. Felix had gone to provide a home haircut service for an influential client (name withheld) in Idogbo, Upper Sakponba. Upon arrival, the client asked him to wait outside while he retrieved his clippers from inside.
While waiting, three men arrived, exchanged greetings with Felix, and entered the house. Moments later, two gunshots rang out from inside. Alarmed, Felix fled to the back of the building to hide. After some time, he cautiously emerged and stepped inside, only to find his client lying in a pool of blood while the man’s wife wept over his lifeless body. The three visitors had shot the client and disappeared.
Terrified, Felix rushed back to his barbershop and recounted the incident to his brother, Shadrach. They decided to close for the day. Later, they learnt that the murdered man was a member of the dreaded Eiye Confraternity, and his assassins belonged to the Vikings Confraternity.
On 29 October 2024, the two brothers resumed work at their barbershop as usual. During the day, Felix went to buy petrol for their generator and was refuelling it at the back of the salon when some men arrived, asking for him.
Shadrach, recognising them as Eiye cultists, sensed danger and told them his younger brother was not around. Felix, hidden at the back, listened anxiously as the men questioned Shadrach. Suddenly, they drew their guns and opened fire, shooting Shadrach multiple times.
After killing him, they doused the shop in petrol, set it ablaze, and fled in a waiting vehicle. Neighbours managed to retrieve Shadrach’s body from the burning shop, but it was too late to save him.
Felix, who had scaled the back fence as soon as the shooting started, returned minutes later to find his brother’s bullet-ridden body and their barbershop completely gutted by fire. Witnesses warned him to flee immediately, as the killers had vowed to return for him, believing he was complicit in the death of their fallen member.
Fearing for his life, Felix reportedly fled to Lagos, though his exact whereabouts remain unknown. Close associates say he took his international passport with him, leaving behind his wife and four children—a son and three daughters—in a desperate bid to escape the Eiye cultists.
The tragedy highlights the deep-rooted violence associated with cult clashes in Edo State and the devastating impact on innocent lives caught in the crossfire.
