Two Killed in Cultists’ Clash as Police Apprehends  Kingpins

By Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Two persons have been reportedly killed in a bloody rival-cult war between Black Axe and Viking confraternity in Auchi Polytechnic.

The clash has caused panic among students and other residents within and outside the institution.

Against this backdrop, Edo State Police Commissioner, Haliru Gwandu, has disclosed that sanity has been restored as two cult kingpins allegedly behind the deadly fracas have been apprehended.

The renewed clash was said to have started on Thursday following the completion of sessional examinations by students of the Polytechnic.

The two persons who lost their lives following the cult war, were killed at different locations in Auchi between Friday and Saturday night.

It was gathered that while one was killed in front of Hartland Construction Company along Benin-Auchi-Okene highway, the other person wss said to have been shot dead at the back of School of Engineering of the Polytechnic respectively.

Accordingbto information reaching THISDAY, the renew war came as a result of disagreement between the two warring groups at a graduation party of an unnamed student on Friday night.

Speaking to Journalists in Benin, the Edo State Police assured that in the next few days more suspects would be arrested and paraded just as he urged administrators of various higher institutions to ensure that only students with worthy characters are admitted into their campuses.

Haliru stated “The issue of Auchi polytechnic, it all started on the 26th of November where a member of the black axe went and killed a member of Viking confraternity.

“ Like I have always said in many conferences , the students are living in an academic environment and you find that the security unit of the such school have to raise alarm to invite the Pokice and it is only when we are invited that we can enter into the campus.

“It is a standard practice just to make sure that sanity is restored. Good enough we were able to apprehend the persons who masterminded the killings and an axe was also recovered. We were able to apprehend the Kingpins from both side of the warring cult group.

“The matter is under interrogation, we don’t want to mention names now because it will halt the process of investigation but as it is now, both Vikings and Black Axe kingpins are with us and helping us with the investigation.

“Intelligence given so far indicated that anytime students are graduating it has become a tradition and ritual to engage in cult related fight and we eventually experience casualty .

“I want use this medium to solicit to educational administrators of various tertiary institution to ensure that students admitted to schools are of good behaviors , even in the University they are some social clubs students are entitle to and must ensure that such program should be properly asses before it transform into cult group”, the Who Police Commissioner said.