By CrossRiverWatch Admin
Information reaching CrossRiverWatch suggests that the recent gang war in Bendeghe Ekiem community of Etung local government area may have been sparked by the killing of the friend of a gangsta by the rival group.
The gang war led to the death of the at least four gangstas and was between the Klans Konfraternity and Vikings confraternity.
A respondent familiar with the events (names withheld) told CrossRiverWatch that, “one of them that they killed does not belong to any cult group.” The resident explained that: “The innocent one that they killed slept in his friend’s house meanwhile the friend who is a cultist, left the house for him to an unknown place. When other gang members came they didn’t meet the guy and they decided to kill his friend.”
The resident said the killings which occurred between Sunday and Monday morning, “escalated because of the innocent guy.”
DailyPost reports that the Police Command in Cross River confirmed the gang war.
“The incident happened around 3-4am on Monday, it was an incident that continuously happened between two rivalries cults groups, vikkings and klans men,” said Mr. hafiz Inuwa, the commissioner for Police in the State.
Inuwa who averred that policemen have been deployed to the area, added that: “They have fought between themselves and some people have sustained various degrees of injuries. We have deployed team of police men to the area.”
Furthermore, he said the community was now deserted and promised that: “We are not going to rest until we arrest the culprits. We have not received any information whether it was politically motivated or not but I am sure it was a clash between two cult groups.
CrossRiverWatch gathered that the Police have since evacuated the corpses to an undisclosed mortuary in nearby Ikom local government area.
Reacting to the situation, an indigene and Special Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade on cocoa development, Mr. Oscar Ofuka who described the killings as “regrettable,” sued for peace in other to ensure the community develops.
Ofuka who said this was the first of such incidents in two years, averred that: “This one clash too many is not welcome at all, fighting between two rivalry groups does not bring development, our children should give peace a chance. We have just celebrated two years of continuous peace in the area before this happened. Our youths have been maintaining this peace before this incident occurred on Sunday.
“The entire community is thrown into mourning and I call on the police to fish out the perpetrators of this heinous crime, they should investigate the causes of this clash and brought the suspects to book. This is not the time for this kind of incident; we should see ourselves as brothers and sisters,” he said.
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