Suspected Cultists Kill Friend Over Fraud Proceeds In Cross River

The Cross River State Police Command has launched manhunt for two suspected cultists, simply identified as Mr. Aziz and FBI for killing their friend, one Mr Benji (surname withheld), over proceeds from internet fraud.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Irene Ugbo who disclosed the incident on Thursday in Calabar through a telephone conversation with our correspondent, said the case was not reported to the police.

Ugbo said the Command swung into action to apprehend the suspects upon hearing of the incident in a bid to bring them to book.

According to the PPRO, the incident occurred on Sunday, February 2 when the suspected cultists who fled Essien Town community allegedly killed Benji, said to be their friend, before dismembering his body and dumped it in a sack.

Narrating how the deceased died, a source told LEADERSHIP under anonymity that his ordeals began after making N5million from fraudulent internet business, popularly known as ‘Yahoo business’.

“He is a ‘Yahoo boy.’ He scammed someone of about N5million. One of his girlfriends happened to know about the money, so she leaked the information to some of his friends who happened to be cult guys. Since he was owing them N300,000 and they heard he had such amount, they lured him to their meeting place and beat him up with cutlass.

“He transferred N500,000 to them but they were not satisfied, so they collected his phone and saw the alert that he was still having some money. They started beating him again and forcefully collected his PIN code to transfer the whole money into their account,” the source said.

Upon realising that Benji was dead, the suspects severed their victim’s body into pieces, dumped the mutilated body in a sack and took his remains to the grandmother’s house on Spring Road in Ekoirinim community, Calabar Municipal local government area where he was residing with his grandmother before the gruesome murder.

The grandmother who suspected a foul play after noticing some blood droppings from the sack, raised an alarm, but it was too late as the suspects had already fled the area.

Police said it the search for the fleeing suspects has been intensified, assuring that they will be apprehended and brought to face the full wrath of the law.