A leader of the notorious Icelander cult group in Bayelsa State, identified simply as Uzorma, yesterday shot dead one of his members because of rivalry over a girlfriend.
The incident occurred in Azikoro town in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
Uzorma was reportedly engaged in an argument with the yet-to-be identified girl on Thursday evening and insisted that she must go home with him to pass the night, but the girl allegedly declined his overtures and openly declared her feelings for the yet-to-be-identified deceased – a development that sparked a confrontation between the two cult members.
It was learnt that the deceased with the support of four other members resisted attempt by Uzorma to “oppress” him over a girl.
They allegedly allowed them to slug it out, but there was no victor that day.
It was further gathered that in the wee hours of Friday morning, Uzorma, stormed the house of the deceased and shot him at a close range.
An eyewitness, who spoke in confidence, said: “The deceased was woken up in his sleep. He was held down and his face tied with a cloth. Uzorma shot him at a close range.
“When the news of the incident filtered into town, members and other unit leaders were wondering who killed the deceased, but Uzorma boldly told them that he was the one that killed him and not any rival gang.”
Residents affirmed that the deceased and culprit are notorious cult members and were involved in hard drugs sales and robberies around Azikoro town and Ekeki community in Yenagoa metropolis.
It was also alleged that prior to the incident, the suspected killer was on the wanted list of the police but was always shielded by some powerful politicians from Yenagoa LGA.
He was also said to have been fingered in a failed attempt to kill a police personnel who arrested him some years ago after he was brought out of police custody by his political friends
Efforts made to confirm the report from the state police command yielded no result as calls to the spokesman, Asinim Butswat, did not connect.
(LIB)