A young man was shot dead on Easter Sunday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following a violent clash between rival cult groups reportedly triggered by a dispute over a girlfriend.

The incident occurred on Abakaliki Street in the Mile 1 axis of Diobu, where factions of the Deybam cult group identified as the BS and D12 (also known as Doggies and White Eagles) engaged in a bloody confrontation.

The Rivers State Police Command confirmed the incident, describing it as an intra-cult clash and stating that an investigation was ongoing.

Residents said the violence stemmed from both a struggle for territorial control and rivalry over a young woman in the area.

The situation, Daily Trust learnt, escalated on Easter Sunday when members of the rival groups went on a rampage, resulting in the death of one suspected cultist.

Eyewitnesses said the victim was shot by assailants who arrived in a vehicle shortly after he stepped out to buy bread from a nearby shop.

It was learnt that the shooting caused panic, forcing residents and passersby to flee for safety.

Police operatives from the Mile 1 Division later evacuated the victim’s body after the attackers had fled.

The Rivers Police Command Public Relations Officer, CSP Grace Iringe-Koko, said the Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, had ordered a manhunt for the perpetrators.

“The incident is linked to an intra-cult clash in Diobu. The Commissioner of Police has directed that those responsible be apprehended and brought to justice. Security has been reinforced in the area,” she said. (Text, excluding headline: Daily Trust)