Two University graduates hacked to death in suspected cult attack
Two University graduates hacked to death in suspected cult attack
Two young graduates of Niger Delta University, Amassoma, have been gruesomely killed in a suspected cult attack in Gbarantoru community, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The victims, said to be awaiting their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) call-up letters, were ambushed around 11 p.m. on Thursday.
One of them has been identified as Ayaokpo Sinclair, a native of Tombia community, while the identity of the second remains unknown as of press time.
Local sources say the duo had stepped out briefly when they were targeted and attacked by assailants believed to be cult members.
The incident has sparked fear and outrage within the community, as authorities work to uncover the full circumstances surrounding the killings.
According to the Bayelsa State Commander of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Tolummbofa Jonathan, the two young men had stepped out to purchase items when a vehicle carrying a group of young men entered the community.
Upon spotting the victims, the assailants reportedly shouted, “See them,” before chanting “aye, aye”—a slogan commonly associated with cult groups.
Jonathan said the attackers then descended on the graduates with machetes. One of the victims attempted to escape and jumped into a nearby creek despite severe injuries but was later found dead. The other was killed on the spot.
Authorities are investigating the incident, and community members have called for heightened security and swift justice for the victims.
He said, “Though the one that jumped into the creek had managed to swim out, but the driver of the vehicle that brought the cultists later accosted him, and identified him as his relation and tried to save him, but when the attackers came back to the car and saw him, they overpowered the driver and cut him until he became unconscious.
“I tried with my men to revive him by taking him to the community health centre for first aid. In the process at the clinic, he also gave up. So, the police were invited, and the bodies were deposited at the morgue.”
Jonathan disclosed that police have launched an investigation and have already apprehended the driver of the vehicle used to transport the attackers to the community. Efforts are underway to track down the remaining suspects who fled the scene.
