The Bayelsa police on Monday confirmed that the killing of the Deputy Clerk of the State House of Assembly, Nimine Jeffery.
The state police spokesman, Butswat Asinim, told reporters in Yenagoa, the state capital, that a full investigation had been launched.
“It was a stray bullet that killed the deceased during a gang battle in the area,” he said, adding, “The incident occurred on Sunday night”.
According to Mr. Asinim, the deputy clerk was hit by a stray bullet as rival cult gangs engaged in a shoot-out. He said the police were currently combing the area, promising that the culprits would be netted.
A resident in the area told our correspondent that the deceased was shot on the forehead at close range by armed men suspected to be cultists.
“The deceased was shot dead when some youths with guns and machetes stormed the street to launch a reprisal attack on a rival cult group.
“When the cultists discovered that their rival cult members had fled the area before they arrived, they started looting shops and assaulting unsuspecting residents.
“The man that was murdered was in his house when the cultists raided his wife’s shop. As they dragged her purse, she began shouting ‘thieves, thieves’. It was that noise that drew the attention of her husband. The moment he rushed into the shop, the armed youths shot him at close range,” said the eyewitness.
He disclosed that the area was plagued by armed robbery and gang-related crimes.
