A motorcyclist, Odunayo Ikuoyemi, aka Odo, has been shot dead by suspected cultists in the Somolu area of Lagos State.
The incident happened on a walkway beside a major drainage network on Adifashe Street, around 2.30pm on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old Ogun State indigene was said to be survived by a child.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Ikuoyemi was smoking hemp around the drainage when the gunmen, who had been monitoring his movement, arrived on a motorcycle.
An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity for security concern, said the suspected Aiye Confraternity members shot the victim twice.
She said, “There were two of them who came on the motorcycle. Immediately they arrived, they met him where he was smoking hemp.
“He was backing them and was unaware of their presence.
“They first shot him in the armpit. When he turned around to face them, they gave him a second shot in the head and he fell into the gutter.”
The gunshots were said to have spread panic in the area as residents ran helter-skelter.
When PUNCH Metro visited the scene of the incident on Wednesday, it was observed that normalcy had been restored to the community.
However, there were still blood stains in the concrete gutter where Ikuoyemi fell.
PUNCH Metro gathered that there had been clashes between two rival cult groups ─ Aiye and Eye ─ in the Somolu area, with heavy casualties on both sides.
It was said the area had been divided into two with each cult group laying claim to a territory and forbidding its rival from stepping into its domain.
Investigations by PUNCH Metro revealed that a politician in the area had called both sides for a truce meeting in the Bajulaiye area of the state a few weeks ago.
The politician reportedly gave them N2m to share and give peace a chance.
A source said, “Both sides agreed to the deal because the politician did not want their fight to affect the support he would get in the coming elections.
“That was how they started moving freely across the territories, which never happened before now.
“We all sighted Odo (Ikuoyemi) on a motorcycle on the day he was killed and thought the truce was for real, not until we learnt he had been shot dead.”
A resident, Bankole Ekundayo, said the deceased’s friends evacuated his corpse shortly after the incident.
Ekundayo pleaded with the authorities to increase security measures in the Somolu area as Ikuoyemi’s death could mark the beginning of another round of bloodshed.
“This man who died was the hatchet man of the Eiye Confraternity and his death means more lives will be wasted in the coming days.
“The earlier the authorities do something about the security here, the better for all of us,” he said.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, said the case was not reported at any police station in the area.
He urged members of the public to always let the police know when such incidents happen.
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