A 22-year-old man, Abdulmalik Bakare, and two others were killed after suspected cultists attacked Oreta community in Ikorodu, Lagos State. The attack happened on Wednesday and, according to the deceased’s father, Tunde Bakare, six suspects have been arrested.
Speaking with journalists on Sunday, Bakare said the Divisional Police Officer handling the case had assured the family that a comprehensive investigation would be carried out. “The DPO said he would ensure that the case is thoroughly investigated,” he stated.
Findings suggest the violence may have links to an earlier clash between a trailer driver and some suspected hoodlums on Gbogbo Road. A resident who gave his name as Fasasi said armed men on motorcycles stormed the community around 8 p.m. and began shooting.
According to him, tensions started earlier when youths stopped a trailer carrying a container and demanded money. The driver insisted his employers had paid N350,000 at a nearby junction. “It started in the afternoon. The driver of a trailer carrying a container was stopped at Gbogbo by some boys who wanted to collect money from him. The driver said they had paid. Their Chinese owners said they had paid N350,000 to their bosses at the junction. “But they refused. While they were dragging it at the junction, one of the area boys who climbed the trailer was trapped under the tyre and died. The police said they settled it and that it was an accident,” Fasasi recounted.
He said some youths later regrouped and returned to attack Oreta. “In the night, they gathered their gang members and stormed the community on motorcycles. They came to Oreta and started shooting. “The boy was about to close his shop when they killed him. They also killed a physically challenged child who was eating. They started breaking shops and smashing glass doors. A person who came to buy fish was also killed,” he added.
The other victims had not been identified when this report was filed. Residents said panic forced many to flee and shut down businesses. Efforts to get a response from the Lagos State Police Command were unsuccessful; calls and texts to spokesperson SP Abimbola Adebisi went unanswered.
