The fight for supremacy between two rival cult groups have claimed the lives of two teenagers in Yenagoa, Bayelsa capital.
The incident, occurred at the Amarata area of Yenagoa metropolis, causing panic amongst residents who watched the horror and fierce battle between the rival armed cult gangs.
The cult groups were said to have freely used guns, cutlasses, axes and other dangerous weapons during the clash.
The encounter lasted for about an hour, without response by the police or security agents to distress calls.
The incident left the two teenagers, aged 18 and 19, dead through gunshots received during the clash.
One of the victims, identified simply as Paul, from Anambra, was said to have been shot by the rival cult group when he allegedly led his group, armed with guns and other weapons on a reprisal for an earlier attack on their group.
He was said to have been shot in the abdomen and died at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, where he was rushed to for treatment after the encounter.
While the other victim, whose name could not be ascertained, died during the clash.
Their remains have since been deposited at the morgue of the FMC Yenagoa.
Residents of Amarata, a slum withing Yenagoa have been living in fear for some months now, due to frequent cases of violent cult activities and robberies in the area.
Before the cult clash, scores of cult boys have been robbing residents of the area.
When contacted on the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, Mr. Asinim Butswat, confirmed the death of only one person.
He, however denied that the victim died as a result of cult-related incident, saying it was a case of robbery.
”The boy was killed through mob action as he attempted to rob some residents. The deceased victim was resisted by the people who clubbed him to death,” Butswat stated.
He said the command had intensified patrols on the troubled areas to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
