Lagos: 26-year-old killed during cult initiation

A dark cloud has fallen over the Awoyaya area of Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Lagos State, following the tragic killing of a 26-year-old artisan, simply identified as Timehin, during a suspected cult initiation ceremony.

According to multiple reports, the fatal incident occurred on July 18, when a group of suspected members from a rival cult launched a sudden and deadly attack on the initiation site, which had been set up in a secluded bush area, away from public view.

Timehin, who was reportedly being initiated as a new recruit, was caught in the violent clash and fatally wounded in the process.

Eyewitnesses say the ceremony had taken place late in the evening, with the location chosen to avoid detection by the community and security agencies.

However, shortly after the rites began, some assailants believed to be members of a rival cult stormed the scene and began shooting.

A relative of the deceased who disclosed this to our correspondent on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the incident, said this caused the initiators of the rites to scamper for safety, while Timehin could not.

The family source told PUNCH Metro Timehin was attacked and killed in the process.

He said, “Timehin left home in the evening and said he wanted to visit a friend.

“Nobody could stop him from going since he was an adult. It was the following day that our attention was called to a lifeless body found in a bush near the UBA bus stop at Awoyaya. When we got there, we were shocked to discover that he was the one. So, we had to quickly take him to the hospital to see if we could resuscitate him, but he was confirmed dead on arrival.”

Another source in the community who was aware of the incident said Timehin was shot in the neck and on the hand.

“We saw bullet wounds on his neck and his hand. We also realised, some days after his death, that he was taken to the location for cult initiation. We have not been able to confirm this from the police, though,” the source said.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, could not be reached for confirmation as calls made to his telephone by our correspondent were not responded to. A text message sent to him had yet to be replied to as of the time of filing this report.

PUNCH Metro reported on July 16 that rampaging cultists hacked three residents to death in the Ebute Meta area of the state.

The victims were identified simply as Agbara, Butcher and a plumber whose identity had yet to be ascertained.

It was gathered that Agbara was attacked and killed in the Lagos Street area of the community days earlier.

A resident who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said the victim’s body was found lying lifeless on the street in the evening with machete cuts.

Also in May, a cult clash between rival cult groups in the Owode Ajegunle area of the state left one person dead.

It was gathered that one of the rival cult groups was on a mission to avenge the death of one of them when they ran into another group.

A source in the community told our correspondent that this resulted in a confrontation leading to the death of the deceased, identified simply as Sparkle.

(Punch)