Four Students, Women Killed In Edo Cult Clashes

No fewer than four persons, including two students and two women, have been reportedly killed by suspected cultists in different areas of Benin, the Edo State capital.
The victims were said to have been killed on Tuesday.

There have been an increase in cult-related killings recently in the state due to suspected reprisals.

It was learnt that the ‎women, said to be the mothers of two men, who had been targeted by suspected cultists, were shot dead at Virginia Junction and New Benin both in the state capital, when the gunmen could not find their targets.

The two students were said to be schooling at the Edo State College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, in Ovia South West Local Government Area of the state.

They were said to be on their way to attend lectures when their assailants, who had laid an ambush in a nearby bush, shot them dead.

The gunmen were said to have fled back into the bush after the attack.

Irked by the attack, some students of the school were said to have staged a protest calling for the arrest of the perpetrators.
The Provost of the College, Dr. Friday Obasogie, who confirmed the incident, said the case had been reported to the police.

He also noted that the management of the institution had postponed its semester examinations to reduce tension as a result of the incident.

Obasogie added, "The students were going to school when the perpetrators ran out of the bush, attacked them and ran back to the bush.

"It is cult clash; you know that it has been in Benin for over a week now. The police have brought the situation under control.

"The semester's examination has been postponed by one week to enable the tension to die down."
‎However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Stephen Onwochei, said investigations had commenced to identify and apprehend the culprits.