Suspected cultists in the early hours yesterday disrupted the peace in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, shooting two middle-aged men. The two men identified simply as Orlando and British were said to be natives of Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The shooting, which occurred at about 8.45am fuelled the suspicion of resurgence of cult-related killings and was already sending residents of Yenagoa into panic.
According to an eyewitness, the victims were driving in a black colour Infinity SUV with registration number GBJ 154 AA along Goodnews Street, close to the new House of Assembly quarters, when a Mazda car suddenly blocked it before it could negotiate a road bend The gunmen numbering five were said to be armed with AK47 and dressed in plain T-Shirts with bulletproof vests.
They shot their two victims from the side windshield and moved to the front of the car where they further sprayed the car with bullets. Another car, which was driving in the same direction, was affected by the bullets but the owner escaped unhurt.
The gunmen, after the shooting, waited a while to ascertain that their victims were dead before they made a detour and drove off. Immediately the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Azikoro, Mrs. Rita Green was alerted on the incident, she moved to the scene with a detachment of policemen and found the vehicle still emitting steam but the occupants were already dead and their blood and brain tissues littering the dashboard.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Fidelis Odunna who confirmed the incident said investigation was on to establish if it was a case of armed robbery or assassination.
According to him, the gunmen were said to have ransacked the vehicle conveying the victims and made away with unspecified items. He assured Bayelsans of their safety, stressing, they should go about their normal business, as the Nigerian police would not allow crime to thrive in the state.
Checks indicated that the two middle-aged men gunned down yesterday morning in Yenagoa were working with the Bayelsa State government in the fight against cultism. One of them, identified as British was said to be a security aide of the governor.
The two victims were said to have been responsible for the clamp down on some cultists in the state and their killing was a reprisal attack against the move by the state government to stamp out cultism in the state.
Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State Police Command had beefed up security along the waterways, over the reported cases of two separate pirates’ attacks along the Akassa waterways. Though no life was lost, the pirates were said to have robbed all the passengers in the two attacks of all their belongings. Read More
