6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, has said  five suspected cultists were shot dead  in the early hours of yesterday during a fierce gun  battle in Omoku, headquarters of Ogba Egbema Ndoni local government area.

General Officer Commanding of the Division, Major General Kasimu Abdulkarim  told reporters  that five AK 47 riffles had so far been recovered from hoodlums in the local government  between January 1 and yesterday, and that the Army had recorded appreciable success in its bid to rid the local government area of cultists and brigands.

Sources from the community said the army responded to a distress call in Omoku on Tuesday night when the cultists stormed the town shooting sporadically. Our reporter learnt  that the cultists had killed two young men before they were accosted by soldiers.

Daily Trust gathered that corpses of two of the cultists recovered on Palace road in the area were displayed at the Police station in Omoku. The other three were found at the end of the battle with the soldiers.

Daily Trust