Judex Okoro, Calabar

Tragedy again has struck Cross River State University of Technology, CRUTCH, as another final year student of Elementary Education department has been shot dead by suspected rival cult group.

The student, simply indentified as Felix, from Abi local government area, was gunned down on Thursday about 3:30pm while he was just walking around in company of his friends on campus.

This is coming barely two months after one suspected cult leader, James, from Abi local government area of Cross River, was gruesomely killed.

The incident has thrown the entire institution into panic as a good number of students have taken off for fear of reprisal attacks even as they are celebrating students’ cultural week.

A witness, Udo Ekpo, who spoke with our correspondent on phone, said Felix assailants were said to have come in from one of the bush paths and shot sporadically into the air before opening bullets on the deceased.

Ekpo said the deceased was just having a rollicking time as the school has a cultural week before he was hacked down very close to the Student Union Government Secretariat.

He said the gang, numbering about five escaped through the same bush part after they had executed their job successfully.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Irene Ugbo, said the police is already on ground to maintain peace and order in the institution and to also forestall break down of law.

She said: “As we speak, our men are on ground at the venue of the incident. The cult clash claimed one life of an undergraduate.
“He was killed through a gunshot. The Divisional Police Officer in that area is on ground now and the area is under control,” she said.