Abia varsity student dies in cult clash

The Abia State Government says it has commenced an investigation into the death of a student of Abia State University (ABSU) who lost his life in a clash between rival cult groups in the Uturu area of the state.

The Abia State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu, made this known at a press briefing on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting, held at the Government House in Umuahia, the state capital, on Monday, March 11, 2024.

Kanu said: “It has come to the notice of the government that there have been skirmishes in Abia State University, Uturu, within some student groups.

“Some videos have been trending online to the effect that a student lost his life in these skirmishes.

“As a responsive and responsible government, some remedial actions have been taken to restore peace and order on campus.

“The government has dispatched security agencies to take control of the situation at ABSU.

“Investigation in that regard has been instituted.”

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The commissioner, however, enjoined students of all tertiary institutions in Abia State to avoid engaging in any form of violence and actions that could affect their lives and studies.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, said news filtered in that there was a cult clash in ABSU, saying the government was yet to be briefed by security agencies over the killing.

Ekeoma said: “As a government, we’ve swiftly deployed representatives of the government who will interface with authorized persons to find out exactly what happened.

“At this moment, what we have heard is that it was a cult clash and we have not established the details of what transpired and once we do that we will update you.”

The Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, however, said the command was aware that a student of ABSU was killed during a clash between rival cult groups.

Chinaka said: “Our officers, in collaboration with the military, swiftly responded and arrived at the crime scene, causing the culprits to flee upon sighting the police.

“The corpse was evacuated from the crime scene to the morgue and exhibits have been recovered.

“Investigations are ongoing and we will continue to update the public as we progress.”

The Star