The Bayelsa State Police Command has arrested two suspected cultists in connection with a violent clash that claimed the life of a Niger Delta University (NDU) student in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
The suspects were apprehended while allegedly preparing for a reprisal attack following the killing of a suspected member of their cult group, police said.
The deceased, identified as Ebube Jonathan, a 20-year-old 200-level Management Science student of NDU, was reportedly attacked by unidentified assailants along Kabaka Street in Amassoma at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Police said Jonathan, believed to be affiliated with the Black Axe confraternity, was hacked with machetes and shot before he was later confirmed dead by a medical doctor.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Musa Mohammed, disclosed that operatives from the Amassoma Division launched an immediate operation that led to the arrest of two suspects later that day.
The suspects were identified as Godswin Adobu, 24, a 300-level Fine and Applied Arts student of Niger Delta University, and 21-year-old Tarilaefa Fesingha.
READ ALSO: Police arrest 17-year-old student for alleged kidnap, killing of five-year-old child
According to the police, the pair were arrested at Ending Pele in Amassoma while allegedly mobilising to avenge the death of their alleged gang member.
During the operation, officers reportedly recovered two locally made pistols, two rounds of live 9mm ammunition and substances suspected to be illicit drugs from the suspects.
The Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa State, Iyamah Daniel Edebor, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to combating cultism and other violent crimes across the state.
He warned criminal elements to desist from unlawful activities or face the full weight of the law, while urging residents to continue providing credible information to security agencies to aid ongoing crime-fighting efforts.
Cult-related violence has remained a recurring security challenge in Amassoma, home to the Niger Delta University, with rival confraternities frequently blamed for deadly clashes that have heightened concerns within the university community and its environs.