Cultists kill 2 NDU graduates in Bayelsa attack

Two alumni of Niger Delta University, located in Amassoma, were brutally murdered by individuals suspected to be cultists in the Gbarantoru area of Yenagoa Local Government Area in Bayelsa State.

One of the deceased was identified as Ayaokpo Sinclair from Tombia, while the identity of the second victim had not yet been verified at the time this report was compiled.

Reports stated that the two victims were anticipating their NYSC mobilization when they were attacked around 11 pm on Thursday.

Mr Tolummbofa Jonathan, who heads the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Bayelsa State, stated on Friday that the two graduates had stepped out in the evening to make a purchase when a group of young men drove into the community and began shouting, “See them.”

Jonathan explained that after yelling “aye, aye,” which is thought to be a cult chant, the assailants launched an attack on the victims and struck them repeatedly with machetes.

He noted that one of the young men managed to flee with machete injuries and dived into a nearby creek, where he later died, while the other was killed on the spot.

He said, “Though the one that jumped into the creek had managed to swim out, the driver of the vehicle that brought the cultists later accosted him and identified him as his relation and tried to save him, but when the attackers came back to the car and saw him, they overpowered the driver and cut him until he became unconscious.”

“I tried with my men to revive him by taking him to the community health centre for first aid. In the process at the clinic, he also gave up. So, the police were invited, and the bodies were deposited at the morgue.”

Jonathan mentioned that law enforcement had begun investigating the case and had taken into custody the driver of the vehicle that transported the attackers, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend the other suspects who escaped.

When reached for comment, Mr Musa Mohammed, the spokesperson for the Bayelsa State Police Command, confirmed the event, stating that several individuals had been detained concerning the killings and that the State Criminal Investigative Department was handling the case.

“The State Criminal Investigation Department has commenced an investigation into the matter to arrest the fleeing suspects,” he stated.