Five young men have been brutally murdered by some armed youth of Ukhirhi community in the Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State over what was claimed to be a power tussle.
Some of the victims identified as; Eghosasere Imafidon, Sunday Igiebor Ekogiawere, Osazee Iweh and others, were attacked by members of a gang terrorising residents of the town led by Elvis Ebose, Ekogiawe Innocent Uyi and Ekogiawe Benjamin.
SaharaReporters learnt that the gang stormed the community at about 7:00pm on November 15, 2021, shot sporadically to scare people away before heading for Iweh’s house to kill him.
After committing the act, the assailants took away the victim’s corpse and abducted four others whom they later killed and buried in a shallow grave.
“After their barbaric murder, the four men who were earlier abducted were buried in a shallow grave in the bush while they dumped one of the corpses along the main road.
“After searching for the corpses for some days, the family members of the victims traced the shallow grave where they were buried and their corpses were removed and deposited in a morgue in Benin City,” a resident of the community told SaharaReporters.
Following the tragic incident, the people of Ukhirhi have called for the arrest and prosecution of the culprits of the heinous crime.
They urged the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Philip Ugbadu, and Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 5, to come to their aid by arresting and punishing the murderers of their sons.
“We are also appealing to the Oba of Benin, Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, and security agencies to come to our aid as it is criminal and abominable to take the life of a fellow man,” another resident of the town said.
The situation has since left the community in a tensed mood with residents expressing fear that members of the gang that carried out the murders may return to wreak more havoc.
