Palpable tension mounting in Obile community of Ohaji/Egbema local government area, as two unnamed cult groups have threatened to invade and deal with the leaders, if some of their members who were arrested by police after their recent mayhem during which some citizens lost their lives were not release.
Reports from the community indicate that some of the community leaders have already run away from the place afraid of the threat indicating that unless the Imo State Police Command sends an intervention force in the area, the rival cults may carry out their proposed attack, which may be fatal to the inhabitants.
One of the cult groups is alleged to be demanding payment from the community to sustain its members, hibernating in the forest from where they carry out their criminal acts.
Our source revealed that in August 2019, cultists invaded the community and killed five persons including a retired police office and the Town Union President General, Napoleon Amadi, with only three persons were arrested.
The source disclosed that while one of the cult groups had re-surfaced with threat to kill the new President General, Athanasius Nwagbara, and other leaders who they accused of inviting the police, the other group was alleged to have demanded for money to sustain themselves in the forest where they live and it was reliably gathered that the women of the area for their safety, had contributed and paid a total sum of N116,000 to the group.
The women said that whereas, Mr Nwagbara has fled the town, they have no place to run and had no option than to pay the ransom. Nwagbara who confirmed the development said he fled when it became certain that his life was in danger and accused some of the community leaders of being informants to the cultists.
He said one of them called him on phone and threatened that if he dosen’t get the police to release their members, they would come for me. I told them that I cannot do that and said they would show and he reported the threat to the police and army but there is no security presence in the area.
Another resident said that he and others fled for fear of attacks starting more so, if security operatives did not intervene, the cultists might carry out their threats as the Commissioner of Police and the Police Public Relations Officer had not at the time of this report, responded to message sent to their phones to ascertain whether they are not aware of such menace of cultists in the Ohaji/Egbema areas or to what extent they have been over powered by the cultists.
