Incessant cult clashes are now threatening the peace and security of Cross River State according to concerned residents.
At the weekend, a former chapter chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ekpenyong Akom and an aide to the state Governor Ben Ayade was shot dead by gunmen in a suspected cult attack in front of his house.
The incident, Africa Update, gathered, occurred at about 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night, when Akom was playing WHOT card with his friends at one of his brother’s joint, simply identified as CY, close to the deceased house at Akai Efa in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River. The gunmen had reportedly stormed the place before singling him out and shot him dead.
An eyewitness said: “The gunmen shot him and they made sure he was dead (‘confirmed him’) before they left in a waiting vehicle.”
Within three weeks, about 20 persons have been killed in different cult clashes in Calabar, Odukpani, Boki Yakurr and other parts, heightening the insecurity in the state.
Apart from Akom, two other people were hacked down on Friday night at St. Mary Street, off Ekpo Abasi and Ibeku Street by Ikom Street.
According to a family source Akom had denounced his membership of a cult group and was not involved in such acts anymore.
Akom is survived by four children and his heavily pregnant wife.
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