Christopher Uche, Yenagoa
A young man simply identified as Blessing Amakiri from Southern Ijaw local government Area of Bayelsa state was killed yesterday during an exchange of gunfire between policemen and cultists in Yenagoa, the state capital.
The incident which occurred at the Ovom axis of Yenagoa at about 4.30pm left residents in fear as they scampered for safety.
Loading ...It was learnt that Amakiri, aged 20 who was visiting the area died immediately and his body was abandoned by the police although they returned later to take away the corpse.
Some eyewitnesses allege that the victim was hit by a pellet from a police rifle and they expressed outrage why the police would contrive to abandon the corpse in the first place.
An eyewitness who spoke on condition of anonymity said “I wonder why they left the corpse but went ahead to arrest many young men after flogging both boys and girls mercilessly.”
It was further gathered that trouble started when three policemen from ‘A’ Division went to the area which is notorious for drugs and cultism to arrest a suspect.
The policemen were met by some cultists who asked them to leave the area but as the policemen refused to leave, they began to pelt them with missiles including stones and broken bottles.
Just then, a senior police officer arrived the scene and immediately ordered the policemen to go after the cultists which is believed to have spurred the sporadic exchange of gunfire.
When contacted over the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Asinim Butswat, said the incident occurred when the police were responding to a distress call about a clash between rival cult groups, Icelanders and Greenlanders.
Butswat said the corpse of Amakiri was identified by his mother and has been deposited in the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa while investigations are ongoing.
He disclosed that two persons were arrested and detained in connection with the incident and that at the conclusion of investigations, the file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
