Three persons, including a 22-year-old man identified as Abdulmalik Bakare, were reportedly killed after suspected cultists invaded the Oreta community in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
The attack, which occurred on Wednesday evening, has left residents in fear and disrupted commercial activities within the community.
Speaking on the incident, the father of the deceased, Tunde Bakare, disclosed that six suspects had been arrested in connection with the killings. He added that the Divisional Police Officer had assured the family that a thorough investigation would be conducted.
Residents said the violence was triggered by an earlier dispute involving a trailer driver and some youths at Gbogbo Road.
According to a resident, identified simply as Fasasi, some youths had stopped a trailer carrying a container and demanded money from the driver. The driver reportedly insisted that his employers had already paid N350,000 to certain individuals at a nearby junction.
During the altercation, one of the youths who allegedly climbed onto the trailer became trapped under its tyre and died. Police reportedly treated the incident as an accident and intervened to calm tensions.
However, residents alleged that the death sparked a retaliatory attack later that night. Armed men said to have arrived on motorcycles stormed Oreta community at about 8 p.m., opening fire on residents and vandalising property.
Bakare was reportedly shot dead while preparing to close his shop. A physically challenged child was also killed during the attack, while another victim, said to have been purchasing fish at the time, lost his life in the violence.
The identities of the two other victims had yet to be officially confirmed as of the time of filing this report.
Witnesses said the attack caused widespread panic, forcing many residents to flee for safety as businesses shut down abruptly.
Efforts to obtain a response from the Lagos State Police Command were unsuccessful. Calls and messages sent to the command’s spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, were not answered as of press time.
Advertisement