SLAIN 14-YEAR-OLD'S BURIAL DISRUPTED BY CULTISTS IN BAUCHI

There was palpable fear in the Yelwa area of Bauchi on Tuesday when cultists disrupted the burial of a suspected cult member who was  reportedly killed by a rival group on Sunday night.

The deceased, whose name was given as Dindara Yusuf, was said to be 14 years old.

It was gathered that the cultists, in their numbers, trailed the deceased to an event, tagged, “Facebook Hangout,” which held at E4 Resort along the Bauchi-Dass Road and stabbed him with a knife several times on his chest till he died.

A source, who spoke to our correspondent in confidence, said the said Facebook Hangout attracted many fun-seekers who were mostly teenagers.

The reason for the clash was not clear, but the source said it might not be unconnected with a disagreement over a girl during a party organised by youths in the area.

The source said:

 “I attended the hangout but I was not comfortable because the place was very rowdy.

“The teenagers who attended the party were very uncoordinated. I suspected that something was going to go wrong.

“Immediately the party ended, the cultists who were waiting for the deceased attacked him outside the venue of the programme and stabbed him on his chest many times.

“Nobody knew the cultists who killed the boy because it happened in the dark where there was no light, around 9pm. People started running for their dear lives, and some soldiers came to rescue the situation.”

It was learnt that when the deceased was to be buried on Tuesday morning at the Christian cemetery in Yelwa, the cult group that the deceased allegedly belonged to disrupted the burial.

The cultists were reportedly aggrieved over the death of their member and insisted that his killers must be fished out before the burial.

It took the intervention of security agents who were deployed  in the area to restore normalcy before the deceased was buried.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Bauchi State Command, who confirmed the incident in a statement, said  seven suspects had so far been arrested in connection with the killing.

He said,

“The unrest that emanated today (Tuesday) during the deceased’s burial in the Yelwa area of the metropolis was caused by some irate youths.

“The Bauchi State Police Command wishes to assure the general public that the situation has been brought under control and is being monitored.

“No arrest has been made regarding the unrest but seven suspects were so far arrested in connection with the murder and are at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department undergoing investigation after which the findings will be made available to the public.”