A member of a rival gang was murdered inside Eke Awka market on Wednesday morning by individuals suspected of being cultists in Anambra State’s Awka South Local Government Area.
According to a source, the event took place as merchants were opening their stores for the day’s business in the morning.
According to the source, the victim, identified as Igwe Omeli, was a notorious cultist who was frequently employed by the market’s leadership to collect tolls.
“He was hacked down in the market, around 7am. He sighted members of the rival cult and made efforts to escape and also alert his gang members, but he was not lucky.
“His head was cut off, including his manhood, and his assailants took them away, leaving the trunk lying inside a line in the market,” the source said.
DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, the Anambra State Police Command’s spokesperson, confirmed the event and said that officers from the command had been sent to the scene.
The Platinum Times Nigeria has learned that the incident prompted business people to hastily close their establishments out of concern for the opposing group’s retaliation.