Three feared dead as gunmen invade Lagos community
Three Dead in Suspected Cult Attack in Lagos Community
Ikorodu, Lagos State – A violent incident attributed to suspected cultists resulted in the deaths of three individuals, including 22-year-old Abdulmalik Bakare, in Oreta community on Wednesday.
The altercation has led to the arrest of six suspects, according to an account from Bakare’s father, Tunde Bakare. Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Bakare expressed confidence that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) responsible for the case has promised a thorough investigation.
“The DPO assured us that the case would be well investigated,” Tunde Bakare stated.
On a visit to Oreta community on Sunday, residents appeared shaken and traumatized by the recent violence, with an overarching atmosphere of fear evident throughout the area.
Reports indicate the attack may have stemmed from a prior dispute near Gbogbo Road, involving a trailer driver and a group of alleged hoodlums. A local resident, who identified himself as Fasasi, claimed that armed men on motorcycles invaded the community around 8 p.m. and began shooting indiscriminately.
Fasasi noted that tensions escalated earlier in the day when some youths halted a trailer transporting a container and demanded money from the driver. He stated that the driver insisted that a sum of N350,000 had already been paid to individuals at a nearby junction.
“The conflict started in the afternoon. The driver was stopped by some boys who wanted to collect money, but he claimed they had already been paid by their employers. An argument ensued at the junction, and tragically, one of the area boys was trapped and died under the tire of the trailer,” Fasasi recounted. “The police were involved and deemed it an accident.”
He alleged that after the incident, the youths regrouped and later launched a retaliatory attack on the community.
“They gathered their gang members and stormed Oreta on motorcycles. They started shooting at random,” he said. “A shopkeeper was killed while closing his shop, and a physically challenged child was also struck while eating. They vandalized shops and shattered glass doors, and a customer purchasing fish was killed as well,” Fasasi added.
As of this report, the identities of the other victims have not been confirmed. Residents reported that the attack incited widespread panic, prompting many to flee their homes and halting commercial activities in the area.
Attempts to reach the Lagos State Police Command for an official statement were unsuccessful. Messages sent to the command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, had not received a response at the time of this report.
