Cultists butcher rival, post beheading video on WhatsApp

By CHRISTOPHER OJI, Lagos

The police have arrested a suspected member of the Supreme Vikings Confraternity for the murder a rival cult member and recording his beheading.

After killing his victim, Ugochukwu Igwilo, the suspect, Nzubechukwu Victor Okonkwo, reportedly posted the video of his apparent beheading on WhatsApp, a private messaging social media app.

Okonkwo was arrested by the Inspector-General’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Abia State.

The suspect, who was arrested alongside Prince Kalu, an alleged member of the confraternity, was apprehended after operatives of the IRT, headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, raided a seven-man gang of armed robbers who robbed and killed some POS agents in Aba Town.

Sources disclosed that the armed robbers were all members of the Supreme Vikings Confraternity and that during interrogations they confessed that a member of their confraternity, Okonkwo, was the person who killed and beheaded the person who was seen in the viral video.

It was further gathered that after the victim was beheaded, Okonkwo and three of his gang members also cut of the victim’s legs, arms and his private part and took it to a native doctor at a village in Ahia Afor, where it was used to make charms that they claimed would give them protection from the police and rival cult gangs.

Narrating why he killed and beheaded Igwilo, Okonkwo, who claimed to be a student of Nigeria Maritime Academy Oron , Cross Rivers State, said:

‘I am from Idiator North, Local Government Area of Imo State, and I joined the Vikings Confraternity in 2013 and I live in Aba with my parent. Mr Virus took me to join the Vikings Confraternity. I was the former head of the confraternity in Aba in 2015. I ruled for six months before I was removed and we had three guns during my time. I was arrested because I killed Ugochukwu Igwilo, who is a member of Black Axe Confraternity. We had a cult war in Aba in 2020 and Ugochukwu killed one of our members, Lampard, and the message was reported in our WhatsApp group chat.

‘Ugochukwu attacked Lampard at

his compound in Umuchichi around Osisioma area of Aba and butchered him, and before then Ugochukwu had also attempted to kill me but I escaped. Ugochukwu was also the former head of the Black Axe group in Aba.

So, on March 6, 2021, Ugochukwu came to where we were playing football with one Segior and a member of our group known as “More-Light” was with a gun with him at that time. Then we ordered Ugochukwu to follow us into the bush with the gun and he obeyed. But while we were moving into the bush, he attempted to escape and Otiko, a member of our group, went after him and broke his head with a big stick.

Then I shot him with the locally-made gun and he died on the spot. Then we dragged his dead body to our Island which is not far from the bush and I cut off his head and I videotaped it.

I then sent video to our WhatsZpp group chat, from where it went viral. I also presented the head to our members who were not on ground when we killed the victim. Two other members of our group, Spiritual and Otiko, then went to the corpse and removed more body parts that they took to a native doctor at Ogbor Hill in Village Ahia Afor.

The herbalist grinded the head then asked us to pound the bones.

When our present members were pounding the head, the herbalist was making incantations, saying the charm was to prevent the police from arresting us.

But the charmed failed us. The video I shared went viral and when More-Light was arrested over the POS robbery, he also confessed that he was part of the group that killed a beheaded Ugochukwu.

Prince was just a witness to the crime. I was planning to become an engineer but now that dream has been cut short. My biggest regret is that someone else will be sleeping with my girlfriend.’ (Daily Sun)