Four persons have been confirmed dead following a deadly Easter Sunday attack by suspected cultists on Swali community in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, several residents also sustained injuries in the violent incident, which has left the community in mourning.
An eyewitness, who requested anonymity, told NAN on Tuesday that the attackers were masked and arrived the community around midnight in a Toyota Hilux van.
They were reportedly armed with AK-47 rifles and opened fire indiscriminately on unsuspecting residents, many of whom were still in an Easter celebration mood.
“This attack is brutal and I condole with the families of those who have lost loved ones,” said Hon. Ayibanegiyefa Egba, the lawmaker representing Yenagoa Constituency 1 in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly. Egba, who visited the community on Tuesday to assess the aftermath of the attack, urged residents to remain united and vigilant.
“I called on all the residents to be united and vigilant in the face of this incident. I equally call on the youths to shun external influences and also shun vices that can truncate their lives,” he added.
Sources within the community said the violence was linked to an ongoing supremacy battle between two rival cult groups—Greenlanders and Bobos—allegedly fighting for control of revenue generated from the community market.
Confirming the incident, the Bayelsa State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Musa Mohammed, said security operatives have since been deployed to the area and calm has been restored.
“Normalcy has returned to the community and security measures have been put in place to ensure no further breakdown of law and order or destruction of lives and property,” Mohammed stated.
The police have not yet confirmed any arrests, but investigations are said to be ongoing.
