Two persons were reportedly killed in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State on Sunday when two rival cult groups clashed in a supremacy battle.
Members of the two cult groups, Aiye and Eiye confraternities, were said to have engaged each other in a fierce battle at the Benson Bus Stop, which is said to be the stronghold of Eiye, around 11:30pm
It was learnt that the clash caused commotion in the area as residents, traders and passers-by ran in different directions.
technician, Kehinde Adeleye, who resides in the area, told our correspondent on Tuesday that the cult members barricaded Munirat Alije Street, off Sagamu Road, in order to restrict vehicular movement in the area.
Apart from the two persons who were reportedly killed, he said the incident, which lasted for almost three hours, resulted in many people from both sides sustaining varying degree of injuries.
Adeleye said, “The area where the clash took place is an Eiye stronghold. It was Aiye, as I was made to understand, that took the battle to the Eiye territory. What I can’t tell for now is if the two persons that were killed during the fracas were from Aiye or Eiye. Many of the cult members from both groups were seriously injured during the fracas.”
“The situation lingered up till Monday morning; many shop owners and artisans could not open their premises for business. I have just opened my shop since Monday. There were no business activities in all these areas on Monday.
“They are taking the matter like a game. They said it was now 2-0, meaning that one group had killed two members of the other group. I can’t tell which of the two cult groups has lost two members to the other.”
Another resident of the area, who preferred to be anonymous, explained that the cult members used cutlasses, axes and other weapons to fight each other, adding that the residents of the area were so scared that they had to flee their homes that night.
He alleged that a riot policeman, who acted as a bodyguard to the leader of one of the cult groups, was the one who shot and killed the two people during the fracas.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Chike Oti, however, said there was no report of such an incident in Ikorodu.
“We don’t have any record of such an incident anywhere in Ikorodu. There is nothing like that in Ikorodu,” he stated when contacted on Tuesday by our correspondent. (Punch)
