Two suspected members of Aiye and Eiye confraternities were killed at the weekend while many sustained machete cuts in a renewed war between the rival cult gangs in the Ijanikin area of Lagos.
The clash almost grounded commercial activities and vehicular movement in the popular Vespa Market as traders scampered.
It was gathered that members of the gangs have been locked in a war in the last few months, and that the fracas reached its peak at the weekend when suspected members of Eiye went after a rival gang member who resides in the area on five motorcycles.
A source said, “They headed to the residence of one Tajudeen, said to be the head of Aiye’s killer squad in the area.
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“Following a confrontation with Tajudeen’s brother, a fight ensued at the end of which two persons were killed.
The witness noted that Tajudeen was not at home when the gang came calling.
“But the cultists mistook his younger brother for him. They matcheted him until they were sure that he was dead before they left,” he said.
Another witness alleged that one of the Eiye members was dragged down from a moving motorcycle as they attempted to flee the scene.
He said, “He fell from the motorcycle while the others fled; leaving him behind. He was also beaten with wood until he died.”
A police officer at the Ijanikin Police Station said the death of the two suspected cultists was a welcome development to the police.
Calls and an SMS sent to the Lagos State police spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, on the fracas, were neither returned nor replied.