3 feared killed, 4 arrested in Lagos cult war
No fewer than three persons were said to have died during a rival cult war which occurred at the weekend at the PPL area of Okokomaiko, a Lagos suburb, while many others, including a 65-year-old, woman sustained severe injuries.
The police said they have arrested four members of the two deadly secret cults in Lagos, Aiye and Eiye, over their alleged involvement in the blood-letting.
Daily Trust learnt that among those killed was the son of a senior lecturer in one of the higher institutions in Lagos State.
It was gathered that the hoodlums, numbering over 40, emerged from Alaba Rago at about 6.30am armed with guns and cutlasses and began firing sporadically.
A witness of the scene, Kazeem Obanla, said the hoodlums were led by one Taiwo, alias Bush Doctor.
“The cultists broke into grocery shops and carted away beverages and bags of rice, while some of them snatched bags from those who were on their way to work.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent Bala Elkana, confirmed the cult war at PPL but said only one person died in the clash.
Elkana also said a “notorious” cultist at Satellite Town, Ibrahim Abdullahi, a.k.a Tiny, was arrested shortly after midnight of March 23, 2019, at his hideout in the Ijegun-Egba area of the town during an operation led by the Divisional Police Officer of the Satellite Town Division, Chief Superintendent Chike Oti, to rid the community of the violent activities of criminals.
Elkana disclosed Abdulmajid had been on the run since he was linked to the murder of three residents of the community.
“Tiny was arrested alongside one of his accomplices, Obinna Kelvin Okey, 23. During a preliminary interrogation, they confessed to belonging to a cult group called the Aro-Bagger, famously known as Vickings. Other cultists arrested during the operation included Ismaila Adebayo, 21; Bode Akodo, 21; and Adefesun Abdulwahab, 25, all of them members of the Eiye confraternity,” he added.
The Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, has directed the Homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, to take over the alleged murders involving Abdullahi, while the other suspects were transferred to the Command’s Anti-Cultism squad for further investigation.
In a related development, the police said they have arrested a suspected traffic robber, Stephen Egbe, who they described as a specialist in robbing commuters along the Mile 12-Badagry expressway.
Egbe was, according to the police, caught in the act on March 23, 2019 at about 8pm at the Mosalashi bus stop near Mazamaza, by detectives of the Satellite Town police division.