A fierce cult clash at Amarata community, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has claimed five lives while many others sustained various degrees of injuries.
The deadly clash, which has persisted for over a week, is a confrontation between the suspected members of Icelanders and Bobos cult gangs fighting for the control of the area.
A resident of the community, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Daily Trust that the security situation in the area is becoming worse on daily basis.
He said the problem started on Sunday, February 13, when a member of one of the rival gangs was gunned down close to the popular Ebis Mechanic junction.
He said: “They killed the first person on Sunday, February 13 at Ebis Mechanic junction and police came and took the corpse away.
“The other group who are suspected to be on reprisal attack also went berserk, searching for the opponent cult group.
“In the process, one young man suspected to be a member of Icelanders cult group was killed at OMPADEC road on Saturday, while the situation became worse on Monday when the other group stormed Ebis Mechanic and Success School road, killing one person and shooting the other one on the eye.
“So far, five persons are said to be killed.
“We plead with security agents to intervene promptly to forestall more killings, youths are just killing each other for nothing,” he said.
Residents stay indoors
Meanwhile, the residents of Amarata community have remained indoors, while shop owners have shut down their shops for fear of being robbed.
Amarata is just a stone throw to the Creek haven, the Bayelsa State government house and also close to the police headquarters in the state at Ovom community.
The police spokesman in Bayelsa State, SP Asinim Butswat, who confirmed the cult clashes, said only one death had been reported to the police.
He said there had been no arrest for now but police detectives were investigating the matter to bring the perpetrators to book.
The Police had last year set up a special squad to combat cultism in the state.
