Police in Benue State have confirmed the death of two people during a fight between rival cult groups in the Wadata area of Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, on Sunday.
The clash reportedly erupted around the riverside in Wadata, where the cult groups had gathered for a meeting.
According to the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, Catherine Anene, “Due to the police crackdown on cultism in the state, some cultists travelled to the riverside to hold a meeting.
“On getting there, they encountered a rival cult group, which led to a clash in which two people lost their lives.”
Anene stated that five suspects had been arrested and promised to provide further details later.
Earlier reports indicated that four people were killed and many others sustained gunshot and axe injuries.
An eyewitness said on Monday that the violence broke out when rival cult groups, identified as the Red and Black confraternities, engaged in a battle for supremacy, resulting in four deaths.
The eyewitness, who identified himself as Aboh, explained that the clash began on Sunday morning after a member of the Red Confraternity got into a heated argument with a member of the Black Confraternity, leading to a fight.
He said the conflict escalated, and by the time it ended, two people had been found dead at the riverside.
Aboh further stated that another person, along with his neighbour, identified as Emeka, was also killed on Sunday evening at the Wadata Police Barracks, Makurdi, in what appeared to be a retaliatory attack by the rival group.
He said, “Yesterday evening, we were attending a meeting at the police barracks in Wadata when some of the cult boys traced Emeka to the venue, attacked, and killed him. They then proceeded to the rice mill and killed another person.
“The victims were all my friends. I was even calling one of them on the phone to come and see what was happening, only to hear that he was among those killed.”