From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Four persons were reportedly killed in diferent parts Benin City between Wednesday and yesterday in what appears like a resurgence of the cult war which had subsided for a few weeks now.
One of the victims killed by suspected rival cult members was identified as Emmanuel Michael. He was said to be attending to a customer in a mechanic workshop located at Osasogie Street when the gunmen struck.
The incident happened at about 6.20pm on Wednesday.
According to an eye witness, the gunmen shot sporadically into the air before going straight to their suspected target to kill him.
“The gun-wielding men stormed the mechanic shop at about 6.20 pm on Wednesday. Upon noticing that he was their target, the assailants immediately went straight to the said Emmanuel Michael and fired several gunshots into his head, killing him on the spot.
“The situation forced the residents to flee the area while owners of shops quickly locked up and fled. It took the intervention of the Edo State Joint Security Team to restore normalcy in the area”, the witness narrated.
The killing of the Mechanic came a few hours after an unidentified furniture maker (carpenter) was killed by gunmen at his Aragua Street workshop, off Wire road also in Benin City.
Besides, two other persons were killed around Uwelu Spare parts Market. One of the victims said to be a taxi driver and was simply identified as David.
He was said to have been shot while making arrangements to tow his car. The identity of the second person could not be ascertained.
One of David’s friends who said he was popularly called Dave, narrated how he met his death.
“He went to Uwelu and he told me the bottom plate of his car got broken when he drove through an unfamiliar road. I called him on Wednesday afternoon and he said he was making arrangements to fix the car. Later in the evening, his phone was no longer reachable till this morning (yesterday) when I now called one of our common friends who went to find out and told me Dave was one of the two persons killed. He was shot in the head”, he said.
Meanwhile the tale of daily robberies in the Edo State capital, continued yesterday morning, as robbers went on rampage at the New Benin area beside Oguola Primary School, where they robbed a Point of Sale (PoS) operator and dispossessed several persons of their phones and other items including money.
Most of the victims were said to be repairers of car stereos.
At press time, spokesman of the Edo State Police Command, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, said he had not been briefed of the incidents but that he would make an official response after getting the details.