A 22-year-old resident, Abdulmalik Bakare and two other persons lost their lives after suspected cultists reportedly launched a deadly attack on Oreta community in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, has led to the arrest of six suspects, according to the deceased’s father, Tunde Bakare.
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.
When our correspondent visited the community on Sunday, residents were still grappling with the aftermath of the violence, while an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty lingered across the area.
Findings revealed that the attack may have been linked to an earlier altercation involving a trailer driver and a group of suspected hoodlums along Gbogbo Road.
A resident, who identified himself simply as Fasasi, alleged that armed men riding motorcycles invaded the community around 8 p.m. and began shooting indiscriminately.
According to him, tensions had started building earlier in the day after some youths reportedly stopped a trailer transporting a container and demanded money from the driver.
He claimed the driver insisted that his employers had already paid N350,000 to certain individuals 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 alleged that following the incident, some youths regrouped and later carried out a retaliatory attack on the community.
“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 identities of the other victims had not been confirmed as of the time of filing this report.
Residents said the attack triggered panic across the community, forcing many people to flee while commercial activities were abruptly disrupted.
Efforts to obtain an official reaction from the Lagos State Police Command were unsuccessful.
Calls and text messages sent to the command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, were not answered as of the time this report was filed.
