Three Killed as Cultists Clash in Awka

At least three people were last Wednesday night killed in Awka, the Anambra State capital, after suspected members of cult groups had a clash.

The clash, which happened around the popular Ziks Avenue, near Eke Awka market, caused pandemonium in the area as roadside traders abandoned their wares and vehicles and fled for their lives.

An eyewitness told journalists that the men who operated on foot, shooting sporadically into the air, were looking for members of a rival cult group, but later fled the area using a shuttle bus to a village in Umubele, where they killed three persons.

 

While one of the persons killed was identified as Christopher Nzekwe popularly known as Ezeoke, a former head of vigilante group in Awka, while two others who were also gunned down along with him could not be identified. 

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Haruna Mohammed, while reacting to the incident in a social media forum for police and media personalities in the state, said the police were on top of the situation.

According to him, "The police had rushed to the scene," adding: "His body (the slain former vigilante head) was taken to Amaku by policemen in Awka."

Haruna, however, did not take phone calls made to him for further enquiries on whether the culprits were arrested.

An indigene of the village, who claimed to be a neighbour of the slain Ezeoke, said he saw him driving out of his compound last Wednesday evening, and shortly after, news broke that he had been killed.

Bodies of the three persons killed in the clash have been reportedly deposited in a morgue in Awka.