Unidentified Cultists Kill 11 in Ogun Communities

11 persons were reportedly killed by suspected cultists on Thursday in Igode and Fakale communities in the Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State.

According to PUNCH, the attackers were said to be members of the Aye confraternity celebrating their anniversary on Thursday. The report said that the attackers, numbering 25 came from Emuren with cutlasses and guns.

The attackers, who wore masks targeted members of the Eiye confraternity.

They shot dead three welders at a junction bordering Emuren and Igode before proceeding to the Fakale community, where they opened fire on a crowd watching a football match in a viewing centre, killing seven persons.

According to the coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) in the community, Wole Oladunjo:

The fight was between Eiye and Aye confraternities. The Aye members are based in Emuren. The OPC had nothing to do with the fight. But surprisingly, they (Aye members) came here on Wednesday and started shooting sporadically. They killed seven persons in a viewing centre.

The policemen, who came that evening, were blaring their sirens from afar and this gave those boys the chance to escape.

One of the deceased was our member. The others killed were not Eiye members. They were hard working youths. Four persons are still in the hospital receiving treatment. The police picked four corpses and three of them have been buried.

The Secretary of the OPC in the community, Idris Lawal, vowed that his members would avenge the killings, adding that the victims were innocent residents. Another OPC member said that the killers wrote “7/7” on the heads of their victims and on a refrigerator they destroyed in a shop.

The Baale of Fakale, Ganiyu Bisiriyu called on the government to ensure the protection of lives and properties in the area.

“Those cultists were chased away from Lagos State and they came to settle in communities around here. The persons they killed were not their rival cultists. One of the deceased helped me to work on my farm a few days ago,” he said.

Speaking on the incident, the Igode community head, Rafiu Disu said:

I was in the palace on Wednesday morning when I saw about 25 men on motorcycles armed with guns and cutlasses passing through our community to Fakale. While they were coming back in the evening, they started shooting and chasing people. They chased (a man identified as) Otamali to his apartment. He shut the door, but they broke in. They shot and stabbed him to death.

They also destroyed a car and shattered glass windows. For over 25 years that I have been living in this community, I have never witnessed such. We could not sleep throughout the night. A lot of people have packed out in fear.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the killings, adding that calm has been restored to the area.

“I am aware of the killings in Fakale community. We got information that some suspected Aye cult members were planning to have a party and they bought a goat. A rival group went to kill the goat and they became annoyed. They killed four persons, who were their targets.

The Divisional Police Officer, Ogijo division, and the chairman, Sagamu Local Government Area, with some government officials, have visited the community. The police are on the trail of the suspects,” he added