Cultist Go On Rampage, Kill 15 In Broad Daylight in Owerri,Imo state Capital

Some suspected cult members went on rampage yesterday, June 2, killing no fewer than 15 people in Owerri, the Imo State capital in broad daylight.

Some of the cultists who were arrested

The cultists were said to have gunned down some of their victims while using axe on others.

According to an eyewitness who pleaded anonymity, the incident was caused by the death of a member of the Black Axe confraternity who was allegedly ambushed and killed by members of a rival cult group, the Buccaneers, in one of the popular hotels in Owerri.

The source said the Black Axe cult members who were armed, trailed the suspected killers of their members to Ekeonunwa market where they killed about five people in the presence of traders, who abandoned their goods to parts of the city and scampered for their lives.

They traced others to another part of the city, there they shot a man a man who just recently got married. They were said to have cut him into pieces before some armed police men arrived the scene.

They engaged in a gun battle which lasted for hours, with the policemen and 8 suspects were arrested.

Confirming the incident, the Police spokesman Andrew Enwerem said the number of casualties was yet to be confirmed, adding that investigations are ongoing to apprehend other suspects.
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Photo: Three Gay Men Stripped Naked And Almost Lynched In Imo State

   
A group, the Nigeria HIV info, dedicated to the protection of the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, has condemned the mob beating of three men accused of engaging in homosexuality in Imo State.
In a statement by Steve Aborisade, its coordinator, the group said it has “reliably confirmed and authenticated the incident and of the identity of one of the men.”
The three men were stripped naked and allegedly lynched on Monday, in Ekwe, near Umuka in Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State.

Mr. Aborisade called on security agents to respond to the plight of the men.
“As it is, only the perpetrators and the community can tell the whole world what has become of these men who were seriously beaten up, stripped naked and paraded around the community bounded together like animals on allegation that they were caught having sex together,” Mr. Aborisade said.
Mr. Aborisade said a reliable source “reliably confirmed that the men were yet to be released from the location where they are being held in Umuka, Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State.”
The group appealed to the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to intervene to save the lives of the men.
“While acknowledging that several Nigerians find the practice of homosexuality strange and unnatural, we also realize that it does not confer a license to trample on the rights of people who engages in it, with the sort of inhuman treatment that was meted out to these them.
“So many informed commentators, including Nobel Prize winner, Prof Wole Soyinka have commented on the scientifically proven fact that more than anything, gays are just victims of biology,” the group said.
Mr. Aborisade said instead of being singled out for harassment and prosecution, sexual minorities deserve support and access to sexual health services that they lack as citizens of this country.
He said sexual minorities “remain a high risk group to HIV/AIDS infection, yet it is a community that has been denied of all access to life saving HIV/AIDS services.”
“We suggest that our parliamentarians should devote equal energy at fishing out and punishing our treasury thieves who are doing more harm to the continued survival of our nation instead of dissipating energy on an issue that borders on private morality.
“We enjoin other rights group to show solidarity and ensure that the rights of sexual minorities are protected like other marginalised groups in the country,” Mr. Aborisade said