Worried by the upsurge in rival cult clashes in Orhohworun and other neighbouring communities in the Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, concerned residents have sent a Save-Our-Souls message to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, calling for his urgent over alleged threats to their lives.
The terrified residents, under the auspices of Concerned Citizens of Udu Communities, in a statement jointly signed by Godspower Oghenewegba and John Efeurhobo, Chairman and Secretary respectively, noted that their appeal to the IG had become necessary “as we cannot continue to fold our arms and watch the senseless killing of innocent people all in the name of cult wars.”
According to the statement, the people can no longer cope with the fear, intimidation and harassment they have been subjected to in the last four years when the cult clashes started.
They claimed that even though Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the Chairman, Udu Local Government Council, Chief Jite Brown, had made spirited efforts to tackle the problem, the need for more stringent measures was desirable to bring the situation under control in order to guarantee the safety of lives and property in the area.
According to the petitioners, the spate of killings and destruction of properties in the area started recently in Orhuwhorun and later escalated to Mofor Motor Park, where innocent people were killed and several others wounded.
“As of now, the wounded are still receiving treatment in various hospitals both far and near. And most of the cult gangs that are involved in this act of killings are known to be notorious cult members,” the statement said.
It noted that the garage at Mofor from the DSC township down to the Mofor Park had become a beehive of clandestine activities where cult members always plan attacks on other cult gangs even in broad daylight.
The statement read in part, “There are various confraternities of different dimensions. Each one of the cult groups want to lord it over the other in a gun battle, while fighting, maiming, killing, burning of houses and properties as well as looting have been the order of the day.
“In recent times, the Orhohworun community in the Udu Local Government Area has been turned into a theatre of war between rival cult groups fighting for supremacy, the worst of its kind, a situation where people can no longer sleep and walk in peace.”
“Consequently, the Orhuwhorun community has become a ghost town. Schools in the locality no longer function as they used to be. Taking human lives has become the order of the day in a once upon a time peaceful community.
“Before, the Udu Local Government Area was so peaceful due to the efforts of the local government Chairman, Chief Jite Brown, who is an astute apostle of peace, in collaboration with other security operatives in the locality, including the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Corps.”
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