One killed as cult clash sparks panic in Lagos community

At least one person has reportedly been killed following a violent clash between suspected members of the Aiye and Eiye confraternities in the Awoyaya area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro gathered from a video posted on the Telegram account of Naija Confra, a platform that reveals cult-related violence, that the incident threw the community into confusion and panic.

The clash was said to have started on Monday and continued into Tuesday, resulting in the death of one resident identified simply as “Pelebe”. In a short video seen by PUNCH Metro, the victim, dressed in blue jeans and a white shirt, was shown lying on the ground and grimacing in pain.

Another video seen on the channel on Wednesday captured residents running for safety while others stood at a distance filming the chaos.

Additional graphic photos showed a victim with a bloodied leg.

“Earlier today (Tuesday), we reported a serious cult clash in the Awoyaya area of Ibeju-Lekki, involving Eiye and Aiye, where killings happened yesterday (Monday) and today (Tuesday),” the post partly read, adding that another person “was shot in the leg in the Iya Alagbo area” during a separate attack.

Although there were reports that arrests had been made, the command’s spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, told our correspondent that she would “revert.” However, she had not yet done so as of the time of filing this report.

The incident comes less than two weeks after gunmen believed to be members of rival cult groups opened fire during the annual masqueraders’ festival in the Orile-Iganmu area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro reported on November 24 that at least three people were killed during that attack.

Similarly, in September, at least three persons were brutally murdered during an earlier masquerader festival on Lagos Island.

Reports indicated that some members of a family involved in the festival, who are also believed to belong to various cult groups, had hijacked the event and turned it into a supremacy battle.

While the police command has intensified its clampdown on cult-related violence across the state, fresh incidents involving deadly clashes continue to surface.