Three cultists shot dead in supremacy battle between rival cult groups in Rivers

Three suspected cultists were killed in a gun duel during a supremacy battle between suspected Greenland and Iceland cult groups along the East-West road section of Ahoada East Local Government Area on Saturday night.

A source in the community who pleaded anonymity told our reporter that the shooting which caused serious panic stopped when the Ahoada East Police Division led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) arrived at the scene and gave the hoodlums a serious chase.

The source said but for the timely arrival of the DPO and his men, the cultists would have overrun the town on Saturday night.

Community sources also disclosed that there were police patrols in and around Ahoada, the headquarters of Ahoada East local government area on Sunday.

The shooting, we gathered, resulted in pandemonium as people around the area scampered for safety, while shop owners hurriedly closed businesses for the day.

Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko said the shooting resulted from cult rivalry between two cult groups.

Koko revealed that two dead cultists, Azhinibudu Biko, aka “Yankee” aged 35 and Gboka Odoi, 37 years, were notorious criminals terrorizing the Ahoada section of the East-West road and its environs.

Koko added that efforts were on to arrest fleeing members of the gangs.

Ahoada East and Ahoada West local government areas of the State have always been hotbeds of rival cult gang wars. They essentially fight for the territorial control of illegal oil bunkering sites where they tap national resources.