Gunmen suspected to be cultists have killed a student of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, during a violent attack linked to an ongoing rivalry between rival cult groups.
The student, identified simply as Peter, was shot dead on Sunday evening in the Opomulero area of Owo, where he resided. Residents said the attackers stormed the neighbourhood while searching for members of a rival group before locating the victim.
A community source said the assailants pretended to be visitors before calling Peter out of his apartment and shooting him at close range.
“We received a call yesterday evening that Peter was shot by some guys believed to be cultists. They disguised as visitors, called him out and shot him at point-blank range. He struggled to stay alive before he was rushed to the hospital,” the source said.
Another resident disclosed that the deceased, also known among friends as Don P, had been mourning the death of his mother, who passed away about three weeks earlier.
“Peter was still grieving his mother’s death when this unfortunate incident happened,” the source said.
An anti-cultism advocacy group, Naija Confra, said the killing was a fallout of a violent confrontation between rival cult groups within the polytechnic community. According to the platform, the crisis began last Thursday during a birthday celebration allegedly organised by members of the Eiye confraternity.
The group said tension started after an Eiye leader allegedly ordered the assault of a female student, an action that reportedly triggered a clash with members of the Buccaneers confraternity who were present at the scene.
“The incident started inside the school when Eiye cultists were celebrating their member’s birthday and playing cult songs loudly. An altercation broke out after a female student was assaulted on the order of an Eiye leader,” the statement said.
It added that reprisal attacks later followed between both groups, eventually leading to the killing of Peter.
Efforts to reach the management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic were unsuccessful, as calls to the contact number listed on the institution’s website were not answered. Text messages sent to the number had also not been replied to as of the time of filing this report.
Similarly, the Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, Olushola Alayande, could not be reached. Calls to his mobile line were not picked, and a text message sent to him had yet to receive a response.
