Cult war rages in Benue community, govt imposes curfew

A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed on Naka town, Gwer-West Headquarters, following an unprecedented rival cult clash that has resulted in the deaths of 2 members.

While justifying his action before announcing the imposition of the curfew on Thursday, May 16, 2024, the chairman of the LGA, Henry Agba, said he was left with no other option but to impose the curfew to thwart further escalation of the bloody war.

“There was a clash between rival cultists in the local government during which two persons from both sides were killed.

“As a result of that, the LGA became tense, so we had to place a night curfew to contain the situation. As of yesterday (Wednesday), movement ceased from 8 pm to 6 am, so at the moment there is a restoration of peace and normalcy,” Agba said.

Confirming the cult clash, an eyewitness who wouldn’t want his name mentioned said the crisis, which started as a minor disagreement between two young men, escalated into a full-blown cult war.

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“In the last three days, the situation became tense, gang members engaged in bloody street fights, killing two persons and injuring several others.”

“They also resorted to moving from house to house in search of members of rival gangs to attack them, despite the intervention of the police in Naka town.

“The development created tension in the town as people, particularly business owners, started feeling very unsafe, and some even locked up their shops for fear of being attacked,” he narrated.

Two rival cult groups, Black Axe and Red, have been engaging themselves in an all-out war for the past four days.

The clash took on a very dangerous dimension on Wednesday as members of the gangs were going about conducting house-to-house searches of rival cult members, resulting in heightened tension and the eventual imposition of a curfew by the council chairman.

Cult war rages in Benue community, govt imposes curfew

Updated: Cameroonian, two Nigerians arrested over kidnapping

The police have arrested a Cameroonian and two Nigerians in connection with multiple kidnappings.

The three-man gang was known for kidnapping unsuspecting residents in Orerokpe, Sapele and Warri axes of Delta State.

One suspect is Kaduna-based, while the others are from Kogi and Cameroun, respectively.

Their arrest came through a stint operation carried out by detectives from Force Headquarters, Abuja, and Operatives of Delta State Police Command.

Intelligence gathered on some kidnapping incidents carried out in the Warri axis pointed accusing fingers at Yakubu Ya’u, 20, a Kaduna resident who often visited Oha and Ughwagba communities in the Okpe Local Government Area of the state to kidnap for ransom.

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Led by the DPO of Orerokpe Division, DSP Paul Oboware, the detectives trailed the suspect to his hideout in Warri, where he was arrested.

Grilled, the suspect led the police operatives to two other members of the gang, Musa Yakubu, 25, from Kogi State and Abdulahi Mohammed, 38, from Cameroun.

The gang was allegedly responsible for several kidnapping incidents in Orerokpe, Sapele and Warri axes of Delta State.

Some victims of the crime duly identified the suspects who led the detectives to Ughwagba, where two pump action guns, one live cartridge and one knife buried in a bush were recovered by the police.

A statement issued by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Edafe Bright, said investigation into the matter has commenced with efforts to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang in top gear.

Updated: Cameroonian, two Nigerians arrested over kidnapping

Police arrest suspected killers of Major-General, others in Imo

…Parade 435 suspects, rescue 13 kidnap victims

Parading the suspects including 435 others at the command’s headquarters, Owerri on Thursday, May 16, the state commissioner of police, Aboki Danjuma, said the syndicate was busted through intense intelligence gathering and sustained follow-up by the command’s anti-kidnapping unit.

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He said: “The suspects, Chukwunonso Emmanuel, Okoroigwe Goodness, and Innocent Ogu, were arrested in different locations in Imo and Anambra States. They confessed to the crime of kidnapping and murdering Major General Duru, as well as being members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) /Eastern Security Network (ESN).”

Aboki, who was represented by the police spokesman, Henry Okoye, disclosed that the police also recovered 48 different firearms, 552 various calibres of live ammunition, and several stolen vehicles from the suspects.