Panic as two die in Lagos cult clashes

The clash of two rival cult groups on Thursday and Friday in the Mushin area of Lagos has left two persons dead.

One of the victims was identified as 35-year-old Hamzat Adebanjo, aka, Oyinbo, while the other victim had yet to be identified as of the time of this report.

It was learnt that the yet-to-be-identified victim was first shot before he was hacked to death with cutlasses. Oyinbo was, however, shot point blank.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the fight started on Thursday night when some cultists, identified as Toba boys, unleashed mayhem on a rival cult group known as Toll Gate boys.

The attacking gang was said to have opened fire on the Toll Gate boys while they were drinking in a pub around 10pm.

A source told our correspondent that although several people were injured on the night, only Oyinbo died.

The source, who is a resident, added, “On Friday morning, the Toll Gate boys mobilised and launched a reprisal. That was around 8am.

“The Toba boys, who equally suspected that there would be a reprisal, waited for them with bottles and stones. The cultists converged on Jacob Street, a place that has become their battlefield.

“They started attacking each other with stones and bottles. Just then, one of the gangs brought out firearms and began shooting.

“Several people were injured, but one person died on the spot.”

Our correspondent, who visited Jacob Street on Friday morning, saw blood stains on the floor.

A pair of leather sandals was sighted by PUNCH Metro at a spot where broken bottles and stones littered the ground.

Houses on the street were shut and shops under lock and key.

A woman living around the scene of the incident told our correspondent that she was coaching some school pupils when she heard a noise around 8am.

“I quickly shut the door. What we heard next was a gunshot. After some time, we came out and saw a dead man on the road,” she added.

Another resident, who pleaded anonymity for security reasons, said the police evacuated the corpse from the road.

“The cultists dismembered him with cutlass. They were severing his head from his body when they heard police siren and quickly ran away,” he added.

An octogenarian, who equally asked not to be named, told PUNCH Metro residents were leaving the area for fear of being killed.

He said, “So many people have left this area because of these ceaseless clashes and killings. There was a time some of us installed security apparatus in front of our houses, but the hoodlums destroyed them. We are fed up. As an old man, I am only surviving by God’s help and grace.”

The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Lelma Kolle, said the police had been combing the area to apprehend the killers.

He said, “We got a distress call that morning that there was a gunshot around Toll Gate area. The Divisional Police Officer of Alakara led a patrol team to the spot. They discovered that those who did it had fled.

“They however saw a man that had been butchered. The cultists used cutlass to cut different parts of his body. His corpse has already been deposited at the Yaba mortuary and the police are out to bring the perpetrators to book.”