A fresh gale of killings is rocking Sapele town in Delta State, with the gruesome murder of Mr. Bigha Grikpa, the deputy leader of Warri North local council, and three others, yesterday morning.
Grikpa was shot dead by marauding gunmen who stormed the Mission Road area of the town in the early hours of the day.
A source said the politician, like other victims of the killing, was probably at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The killings came amidst the recovery of the bloated remains of two young boys, who had been declared missing two days earlier.
Police spokesman Edafe Bright (DSP), who our reporter contacted, said he could not confirm the report, because he had “not heard anything about it”.
Several sources confirmed the report, and our reporter gathered that the hitherto sleepy town has been rocked by bloody cult gang wars and deadly killings in the last two years, with dozens of young men killed during the yuletide.
The bloody Wednesday’s victims included Matthew Ekiopa, who ran a thriving boutique at Lexi Junction, and his salesgirl, simply identified as Blessing. They were hit at point-blank range in the head and arm in front of the shop.
The fourth victim was identified as Alhaji Bello, a businessman, who was said to be making a purchase at the boutique when the gunmen struck.
Mr. Khalil Samuel, a resident of the troubled city, lamented the spate of killings on his Facebook page, saying, “Four people killed in Sapele this (Wednesday) morning. Sapele needs a serious intervention”
Khalil urged the government to declare a curfew in the town, noting that the killings are “totally unacceptable.”
Weighing in on the incident, Mr. Daniel Mayuku, a former member of the state House of Assembly, expressed shock at Grikpa’s death.
“I knew this very calm and respectful councilor,” he said. “What was his offence?”
A blogger based in the town, Sapele Amebo, reported that the remains of two youths who were declared missing 48 hours earlier were recovered from a sand beach in the town.
It was gathered that the remains showed signs of lacerations on their throats, raising suspicions that their remains were dumped into the river after they had been killed.
