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*Police take over Uyo City Centre

By Harris Emanuel, Uyo

At least five persons were reportedly killed and others severely injured when two notorious cult groups clashed Tuesday evening in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.

Eyewitnesses said the clàshes between Vikings ànd Mafians started about 6:30 pm and lasted for about two hours, before Police operatives and a detachment of soldiers standing guard at the plaza since the #EndSARS protests last year restored normalcy.

Aniekan Akpainyang, a tricycle operator, who spoke to Journalists, disclosed that the clash started with a minor disagreement at a betting shop, along Ikot Ekpene road by the plaza area.

He said: “a member of the Vikings confraternity had placed a bet to the tune of N5,000, but could not pay after he lost. The shop attendant asked him to pay or drop his phone, but he refused and instead call his gang members on phone, who stormed the betting centre and pounced on the attendant as well as raided the shop.”

He added that the resultant reprisal from the camp of the booking man, said to belong to the Mafians group, led to a free-for-all, with three persons killed; two at the Plaza area and one at the Ikpa road junction, close to the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) town campus, while two others, had earlier been killed at Okokon Etuk street, few meters to the Uyo City centre.

But, the Police, yesterday, confirmed the incident, but could not give the casualty figures in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Odiko Macdon.