26 arrested as cult war erupts again at Bariga

A bloody crisis has erupted again in Bariga, Lagos, between members of two rival secret cult groups, Aiye and Eiye, over control of motor parks in the area and supremacy issues generally.

The fracas, which started last Saturday, dragged till Monday as members of both groups engaged one another using guns and other dangerous weapons.

The Bariga and adjoining Oworonsoki areas of the Lagos metropolis have assumed a lingering notoriety as fields for bloody battles between members of the two confraternities, with many deaths recorded this year alone.

Though the police said no life was lost in the latest fracas, a resident of the area told our correspondent that, at least, one person was killed in the cross-fire, while many others sustained bullet wounds.

Eko Trust learnt that last Saturday night, some Aiye members had traced a member of their Eiye cult rivals to the Bariga waterside, where they hacked down one of the Eiye men.

A lady, who gave her name simply as Titilayo and who claimed to have witnessed the attack on the deceased, said that news of the attack soon got to members of the Eiye group who quickly mobilized and went after Aiye members in their areas.

“The result was the bloodbath and looting witnessed in the area between Saturday and Monday. Traders quickly closed their shops for fear of being caught in the cross-fire,” she said.

The Lagos State police spokesman, Bala Elkana, who spoke on the crisis, said that the only case of violence in Bariga in recent times occurred on July 21, 2019.

Elkana said that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, ordered the immediate deployment of the Operation Crush team to the two communities with the mandate of identifying, isolating and apprehending the leaders and members of the cult gang disturbing the peace of the area.

“Acting on credible intelligence, 26 suspects were arrested within five days and various weapons recovered from them. The suspects will all be charged to court to face the full weight of the law. The onslaught is ongoing until the cult members are totally defeated,” he said.