There was pandemonium in a community market on Johnson
Street, Somolu, Lagos State, on Wednesday as some suspected cultists shot and
hacked to death a 22-year-old resident, identified only as Ahmed, aka Bobo.
And according to PUNCH Metro, the killers were suspected members of the Aiye Confraternity.
A trader, Tawakalitu Omosebi, told Punch on Friday during a visit to the market that Ahmed was trailed to the area by a three-man gang. She said:
And according to PUNCH Metro, the killers were suspected members of the Aiye Confraternity.
A trader, Tawakalitu Omosebi, told Punch on Friday during a visit to the market that Ahmed was trailed to the area by a three-man gang. She said:
“It was around 8.30pm on Wednesday when those men
stormed the market. They have been coming here for some time. On that day, they
met him at a lotto kiosk. He was trying to check the result and he was alone.
When he realised that he had been surrounded, he tried to escape, but they
trapped him. They first shot him in the chest before they started hacking him with cutlass. They later left,
fearing that his friends might show up.”
Omosebi said the gang also attacked some of the traders and
dispossessed customers of phones and money when they were leaving. Some minutes
after the cultists left, Ahmed’s friends came and took him to a private
hospital in the area.
“When they took him to the private hospital, the management
of the hospital asked them to produce a police report, but since they were also
cultists, they were afraid and that was how he died. It took about 30 mintues
before he finally gave up,” she added.
Findings by PUNCH Metro showed there had been a series of
cult clashes between some Eiye gang members on Johnson Street and their rivals
in Aiye confraternity from Kusa Street, a neighbouring community. A source in
the area said Ahmed was killed as a reprisal for an earlier attack he allegedly
led. He said:
“A few days earlier, Ahmed led an attack on Kusa
Street and attacked a rival cult member. He thought the man was dead, but the
man’s friends rushed him to the hospital and he survived. Those people now
mobilised and killed him on Wednesday.”
Investigations further revealed that Ahmed was shot by a
teenage gangster, identified only as Ibrahim, aka Elede. A resident, Kola
Oyedapo, explained to PUNCH Metro that Elede had been responsible for some
deaths in the area in recent times.
When their correspondent approached the owner of the lotto kiosk where Ahmed was reportedly killed, he declined comment, saying he was not around at the time of the incident. A resident, who was scanning through a printed paper, queried him on his interest in reporting the incident.
When their correspondent approached the owner of the lotto kiosk where Ahmed was reportedly killed, he declined comment, saying he was not around at the time of the incident. A resident, who was scanning through a printed paper, queried him on his interest in reporting the incident.
“Why do you want to report it? You should just leave the
matter to rest,” he said.
Meanwhile, some traders in the market have lamented the
spate of cult attacks in the street, pleading with the government to intervene.
A vegetable seller, Ibukun Matthew, said:
A vegetable seller, Ibukun Matthew, said:
“We have been living in fear here. Some parents are even too
scared to send their children to the market because of the rate at which these
cultists strike. Anything can happen at any time.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu,
confirmed the incident, adding that the corpse of the deceased had been
deposited in the mortuary. He said:
“At about 8.30pm, two cult groups engaged one another in a
rivalry clash at Johnson Street, Pedro, and in the process, a
yet-to-be-identified male, suspected to be a member of one of the groups lost
his life. Corpse has been deposited at the Gbagada General Hospital Morgue for
autopsy.”
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