Emma Ogoigbe, Warri.
Following cult clashes in Mosogar Community, Ethiope-West Local Government Area of Delta State, suspected cultists on Sunday October 12 attacked and stabbed to death a serving Anti-Cult member under the Sapele Police Command, Joshua Umukoro, injured one member of the group just as another escaped from the deadly hoodlums.
The injured victim is currently receiving medical treatment at undisclosed hospital in the area.
It was learnt that the suspected cultists killed the deceased at a meeting he attended in the town.
Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe in a message sent to Our Correspondent said,”Not confirmed yet.”
The situation has caused serious tension within the area as some residents have fled the town.
A cousin of the deceased, Comrade(Dr.) Efemena Umukoro, a human right activist confirmed the report in a telephone chat with Our Correspondent in Warri. He said,”I was supposed to be in that meeting but I declined the meeting.” The suspected cultists had threatened to kill because he was using his Anti-Cult group to arrest their members and handed them over to the Police. “They said he is a stumbling block and they vowed they’re going to take him out.
Umukoro said he warned his cousin not to attend meeting but to shift same to another date. “Being that he likes to get result at all cost,he went. Getting there, he met strange people, he was ambushed and stabbed in the neck. They injured another person who is critically ill and hospitalized receiving treatment. We are praying God he survives. One person escaped” he said.
Contrary to report in various social media platforms,Comrade Umukoro said his younger cousin whom he christened as a “general” is not a cultist as wrongly being speculated. According to him,”I want to correct the wrong narrative online. Joshua Umukoro is an Anti-Cult member in Mosogar. He has been very, very useful in curtailing violent cult activities.”
Umukoro explained that her cousin was also a human right activist who led a protest three(3)years ago when Mosogar community was thrown in obscure darkness due to power outage. “At the venue of the protest,the oppressors used the Police and arrested him. I called the then,CP Ali Mohammed who released him two days later to me. Again, I asked the Police to give me security and I led a protest in Mosogar. Since I was the leader of the protest, nobody was arrested. They(Stepdown) brought a transformer and that was how we started enjoying light in Mosogar.
Umukoro also said the deceased and the Anti-Cult team went into the forest and arrested suspected Fulani herdsmen who were carrying their criminal activities as well as killing women, girls and people of the community and handed them to the Police.
Umukoro further stated that,”We are not suspecting anybody. We’re leaving the investigation to the Police despite various threats on us.
“We want the Delta State Police Command led by CP Olufemi Abaniwonda to look into this issue and unravel the mystery behind the death. He is a Gallant CP. He had not failed us in Delta. The only thing he can do is to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book.”
