An annual traditional festival in Eku, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, has turned violent after three men were shot dead and several others injured.
The incident occurred on Monday night during the festival, with witnesses attributing the violence to a reprisal following an earlier attack on a member of a group in another part of the community.
A source told PUNCH Metro that the earlier attack allegedly triggered the violence at the festival, where some youths were targeted.
“A member of a particular group was attacked somewhere else in the community. The attack led to a reprisal at the festival, where some youths were targeted.
“Three people were shot dead, while others were injured. Some of those injured were hacked with cutlasses,” the source said.
The identities of the three deceased had yet to be officially established as of the time of filing this report.
However, an anti-cultism advocacy platform, Naija Confra, described the incident as a suspected cult attack in a post seen by PUNCH Metro.
The platform identified two of the victims as Isaac, also known as Ziko, and another man known as Baby Police, saying they were close friends.
Naija Confra, however, said it had not established the identity of the third victim and cautioned against describing him as a cultist without sufficient evidence.
The platform stated, “At this time, Naija Confra has not identified the third victim, and we will not label him a cultist until there is sufficient evidence.”
Efforts to obtain the police account of the incident were unsuccessful.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, did not answer calls to his telephone line, while a text message sent to him had yet to receive a response as of the time of filing this report.
The circumstances surrounding the attack, including the identities of those responsible and the motive, remained unclear, pending an official police statement.
