Police in Rivers state have said five persons were killed and others wounded on Saturday night in the escalating supremacy battle between two cults; the Icelanders and Greenlanders.
However, a resident who said they witness the two-hour long gun battle, told Vanguard the bodies were eight.
Superintendent Grace Iringe-Koko, Police Public Relations Officers, Rivers Command, in a statement on Sunday, disclosed that the clash happened at Abuja Housing Estate, near Immigrations Training School, Ahoada, Ahoada East Local Government Area.
The Police spokesman said, “One Eze Noble ‘m’ of Ahoada reported that yesterday night there was cult clash between Iceland and Greenlanders rival cult at Abuja Housing Estate.
“His in-law, one Chukwujeku Kingsley 36; Chibuike Thankgod, 23 with three others, names, addresses yet unknown, were shot dead inside a jungle where they take drugs.
“Before Police arrival at the scene, three corpses were purportedly removed by their family members for burial while Chibuike Thankgod with one other yet to be identified were deposited at Okpeden Morgue, Ula Ehuda community in the area.”
The Police further noted that the killings were as a result of the lingering cult conflicts that have hit the Ahoada area in recent time, just as the Command has deployed tactical teams to restore normalcy while investigation is ongoing on the situation.
Meanwhile, an eyewitness, resident near the scene of the shooting, told Vanguard, “The dead, from what we know, could be mre than the five police confirmed.
“It was a crazy gun duel between the two cults. The body count at the scene were up to eight.
“Some residents have deserted their homes, others remain indoor for fear of another eruption of the gun battle.
“The shooting lasted for more than two hours, yet there was no intervention from the key security bases in Ahoada.”
