Carnival turns bloody as cultists kill graduate

A graduate, identified only as Usman, and another victim have been shot dead by suspected cultists during a carnival in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State...


PUNCH Metro learnt that the graduate, and the other victim, identified simply as Abija, were initially attacked with axes, but they managed to escape.

Their assailants chased and reportedly caught up with them on Itun-Meko Street and shot them dead.

Our correspondent gathered that the attack, which happened on Tuesday at about 5am, was caused by supremacy battle among rival cults in the area.

Policemen from the Ikorodu division were said to have arrived at the scene to remove the corpses, while efforts to arrest the hoodlums reportedly failed.

When PUNCH Metro visited Itun-Meko Street, a resident, who identified himself only as Phillip, said Usman came to the carnival from the neighbouring Anibaba area, which is believed to be the base of a rival gang.

He said, “The two of them came to the carnival from the Anibaba area. This street is ruled by a rival cult. The carnival had almost ended and the two of them were leaving when the hoodlums chased them.

“The boys escaped with cuts, but at the Itun-Meko Street junction, they were shot dead. Their bodies were taken away in a police van. Usman was a university graduate, and Abija was his friend.”

A shop owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there had been gunshots on every evening since the day of the killings on Itun-Meko Street.

He said, “The carnival was a gathering of cult boys. The police should not allow such carnivals. But the hoodlums were able to bring some policemen who were around to monitor the event. The policemen had left when they started trouble. Their anger with the two men was that why would they come to attend their carnival when they belonged to an area controlled by a rival group?

“Since that Tuesday, there have been gunshots every evening.”

A security source in the area told PUNCH Metro that hoodlums from the Anibaba area had also killed two persons from Itun-Meko Street after the Tuesday violence in a reprisal.

Efforts to get Usman’s family members were not successful as of press time.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, who confirmed the killings, said the police recovered three axes, mobile phones and motorcycles used by the cultists which would assist in fishing them out.

She said, “There is no arrest for now. But during the chase by the police, the suspects abandoned three axes, motorcycles and their phones. We are working on these, and we will fish out the killers very soon.”