New Telegraph

Stray bullet kills one during cultists’ clash at Ikorodu

A yet-to-be-identified man was killed on Sunday by a stray bullet during a clash between rival cult groups at Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

 

The victim was on his way home when the stray bullet from when members of the rival cult groups were chasing one another at Ladega area of Ikorodu hit him. A witness said the incident occurred on Sunday about 8pm near the Oba palace of Ikorodu when the rival cultists were chasing one another with guns.

 

A resident, who gave his name simply as Akiniyi, said he was waiting for his wife who was plaiting her hair in the area when he suddenly saw people scampering for safety.

 

He said: “While my wife and I were trying to rush out of the area for fear of being hit by the stray bullets from the guns of the cultists chasing each other, it was then we saw the victim in a pool of blood without being attended to.

 

“Some hoodlums also used the opportunity to loot shops, while phones of some passersby and other valuables were snatched at gunpoint. It was God who saved my wife and I. If not God, a lot of people would have died from stray bullets because the cultists were just shooting indiscriminately.”

 

Akiniyi added that the rate of killing of innocent people in Ikorodu was becoming too much.

 

“Police should focus more on the axis and dwell more on the cultists who have taken over the community,” he said. Another resident, Mr. Salami Adio, said that Ikorodu as a whole was not conducive for most of the residents anymore, because criminals were everywhere in the community. He said: “I was in my apartment close to the palace when I heard people screaming and scampering for safety. I was told that it was rival cultists who were chasing each and someone had been shot dead. After the dust had settled, some landlords and I went to the scene and saw the person shot in a pool of blood. “We couldn’t touch him, because we were expecting the police to evacuate him. I have warned my children not to keep late nights anymore. Security wise, you cannot guarantee your safety in the community anymore. You can’t predict what would happen in the next day, when you go to bed. That is just to tell you how bad the situation is.”

 

Another resident, who identified herself as Mama Bose, said she was still outside attending to her customers where she was selling dry gin, when people started running.

 

He said: “Immediately I saw traders leaving their goods and scampering for safety, I also ran for my life. It was when I came back that I was told someone was killed by cultists in the Ladega area. All the drinks I am selling were stolen. With the situation now in Ikorodu, I am  planning to relocate to another part of the state.”

 

B ut the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, said there was no killing at Ikorodu. He said: “The incident occurred about 8pm at Obunale area, where a stray pellet hit a passer-by, a 16-year-old boy. But he is still alive and receiving treatment in the hospital.”

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