Not fewer than four persons have been reportedly killed and houses set ablaze following a renewed cult war between rival groups in the North Bank area of Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
A source stated that the victims were killed in different parts of the North Bank area during a violent clash between the Black Axe and Supreme Vikings confraternities on Sunday and Monday.
The cult clash caused pandemonium in and around the North Bank area as residents and traders closed their shops and fled for safety.
Newsmen gathered that, for fear of reprisal attacks, many of the residents deserted the affected areas of the mayhem.
The chairman of the anti-cultism group in North Bank area, called Operations Shara, Alhaji Haruna Nuhu, who confirmed the incident, said the two rival cult gangs engaged in the clash at about 9 pm on Saturday and Sunday and continued till Monday.
According to him, the unfortunate incident led to the death of four cultists, saying that their identities are yet to be known at the moment.
“As of yesterday, only one person was killed. Then, last week, they killed two people. In fact, one of the victims was badly butchered and dismembered.
“Up till now, we have not seen the dead body of one of them, and the second person, we discovered today (Tuesday), that his head was pierced. Again, yesterday, the boys shot one person in the eye.
“So, between last week and today (Tuesday), they have killed four people,” Nuhu said.
Another resident of the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was a cult rampage in the North Bank on Sunday and Monday morning, which resulted in the death of four persons and the burning of houses.
He lamented that persistent cult clashes between rival groups in the state, particularly in the North Bank area, have become a source of worry that has affected the economic and social activities of the people.
“There was a rampage yesterday in North Bank, and this afternoon again, there was a house burning at Ter Guma Street in North Bank.
“I don’t know whether the government wants everybody to be wiped away before they will do something positively. These boys engaged in killings yesterday and today up till now that I am talking to you.
“It is now that they decided to lay to rest the young man who was killed on Sunday.
“A lot of things are going on in this area that the public needs to know. This issue of cult boys in North Bank is causing a lot of problems because now, whether you are a member or not, anything can happen.
“As I am talking to you now, so many people have lost their lives within this period,” the source said.
Efforts to speak with the Benue State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, proved abortive.