By  Samuel Oyadongha
Yenagoa—Fear, Sunday night, gripped residents of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital,  following the resurgence of hostilities between suspected rival cult groups, which claimed the life of a 65-year- old ex-soldier identified as Mr. Billy.

The deceased was reportedly hit by stray bullets around the Ovom suburb of the capital city where the cultists were locked in gun duel.

Attempt by sympathizers to save the life of the man proved abortive due to excessive bleeding from injuries sustained.

The deceased who hailed from Okunbiri, in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state, according to witnesses, was rushed to Federal Medical Centre (FMC), in Yenagoa around 8.30pm where he gave up the ghost.

His corpse had since been deposited at the morgue of the FMC, just as another man in his early 30s who was reportedly hit by the cultists’ stray bullets is said to be receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the state capital.

Trouble ensued Sunday evening around 8.00pm when two cult gangs engaged themselves in a violent shootout over an age-long dispute, along Bishop Dimieri Grammar School, Yenagoa.

Residents were said to have scampered for safety as sound of gunshots rent the air, forcing shop owners to hurriedly close to avoid being hit by stray bullets.

Contacted, the state Police Public Relation Officer, PPRO, ASP Eguaveon Emopkae, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident.