Suspected cultists invade hapless residents in reprisal attack

Dare devil hoodlums suspected to be members of the black axe Confraternity on Monday 7th day of July. 2025 attacked house No. 19, Ebagua Street, Off Okhoro Road, Benin City in a renewed assault on opposing Eiye members in the area.

The attack it was learned was targeted at one Osaigbovo Anthony Umweni and his elder brother Osagie Umweni, a dreaded cult leader who the assailants believe had returned home from his hideout, a reason members of black Axe had always attacked his family.

This particular attack witnesses said came at about 9 pm after their mother Grace Umweni had lock-up her shop located in front of their home after the day’s business.

The cult member were said to have disguised as customers and requested that Madam Grace Umweni, mother of Osaigbovo Anthony Umweni opened for them to buy cigarettes from her shop.

Apparently sensing danger, the woman insisted that she had closed for the day and advised that they went elsewhere to purchase whatever they wanted.

Her stubborn stance neighbours said, infuriated the felons who promptly broke into the house and started beating up everyone in sight demanding to see her sons Osaigbovo Anthony Umweni and Osagie Umweni,

Ordering that everyone lay face down, the gang-stars reportedly declared that everyone in the house including Osaigbovo Anthony Umweni’s children who were on holidays would be killed should they fail to produce their targets, Osaigbovo Anthony Umweni and Osagie Umweni.

Realizing that the invaders were the same group that killed one of her sons in similar attacks some months earlier, Grace reportedly pleaded with them not to hurt anyone including her grandchildren who were already traumatized.

Gun shots by some of the gang members outside the house apparently fired to scare off possible intruders, alerted the local vigilance group who promptly returned fire that caused the hoodlums to run away.

Their intervention prevented the gangs from setting the entire building ablaze as they had begun to source for some combustible items to ignite a fire when members of the vigilance group came to their rescue.

The matter has however been reported to the police who have commenced investigations into the matter.

It would be recalled that Osaigbovo Anthony Umweni has reportedly gone into hiding to escape being killed by suspected dare devil cultists in Benin City who had constantly threatened to kill him.

The vengeful cultists want him dead to pay for the deadly assault and gruesome killing of a man and his only child by a rival cult group member by his elder brother Osagie Umweni, a prominent leader of Eiye cult group in Benin City and had made several attempts to kill him and his family members.

Osagie Umweni, whose irresponsible life style has put the life of his family members at great risk, had reportedly killed many young boys and members of Aye Cult (Black axe) who are now out to destroy him and members of his family.

The cultists had on December 4, 2023 attacked him shortly after the Ikpoba River bridge, Upper Mission Extension Road, shooting sporadically at his vehicle after the armed gang successfully blocked his vehicle while returning from his family house with his immediate elder brother Osaheni.

While Osaigbovo Anthony Umweni escaped the shooting into a nearby forest, his brother Osaheni wasn’t that lucky as he got cut down by the wicked bullets of the assailants.

Osaigbovo Anthony Umweni had survived several assassination attacks in recent years resulting in the loss of relations and having to relocate from Benin his home State to neighbouring Kogi and Benue states where he was also targeted by the same cult gangs as a result of their high operational network in the country.

Armed gangs including cultists in their devious battles for supremacy, attack relatives of their primary targets when they become elusive.

Incidencies of relatives of die hard cultists paying the supreme price are common place in Nigeria where the effrontory of armed gangs has assumed a frightening dimension with frequent attacks on security formations.

As a result, complaints made to the police against such gangs are often treated with levity, resulting no serious efforts towards arresting the culprits.