A young man was shot dead on Easter Sunday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following a violent clash between rival cult groups reportedly triggered by a dispute over a girlfriend.
The incident occurred on Abakaliki Street in the Mile 1 axis of Diobu, where factions of the Deybam cult group identified as the BS and D12 (also known as Doggies and White Eagles) engaged in a bloody confrontation.
The Rivers State Police Command confirmed the incident, describing it as an intra-cult clash and stating that an investigation was ongoing.
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Residents said the violence stemmed from both a struggle for territorial control and rivalry over a young woman in the area.
The situation, Daily Trust learnt, escalated on Easter Sunday when members of the rival groups went on a rampage, resulting in the death of one suspected cultist.
Eyewitnesses said the victim was shot by assailants who arrived in a vehicle shortly after he stepped out to buy bread from a nearby shop.
It was learnt that the shooting caused panic, forcing residents and passersby to flee for safety.
Police operatives from the Mile 1 Division later evacuated the victim's body after the attackers had fled.
The Rivers Police Command Public Relations Officer, CSP Grace Iringe-Koko, said the Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, had ordered a manhunt for the perpetrators.
"The incident is linked to an intra-cult clash in Diobu. The Commissioner of Police has directed that those responsible be apprehended and brought to justice. Security has been reinforced in the area," she said.
