At least five young men have been brutally killed in the last one week in Abakpa area of Ogoja and in Calabar South local government areas in Cross River State in renewed cult-related clashes.
Over the weekend, two more youths were reportedly killed near Maybe Avenue in Calabar South Local Government Area in attacks by two rival cult groups known as KKK and Vikings.
Witnesses and relatives of some of the victims said school premises and private homes were set ablaze by suspected cult members in Ogoja.
One Monday Eneche, who raised an alarm to prevent the arson on a school premises, was hacked to death and burnt inside a nearby gutter even though he was believed not to belong to any cult group.
Reacting to the killings, Cross River State Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, insisted that they were aware of only two deaths, and assured law abiding citizens to go about their businesses.
However, despite the assurance from the police, there is tension all over Calabar as residents live in fear of being attacked by hoodlums and cultists.
