A 36-year-old suspected member of the Aiye cult in Lagos, Ibrahim Yahaya, yesterday said he and his gang members went on rampage in Freemen, Kadara and Market streets, Ebute-Meta, in the Lagos metropolis, last month to avenge the killing of two of their members by the rival Eiye cult members.
Policemen from the Denton Police Station, Ebute-Meta, arrested 11 of the suspected cult members on July 15, 2020, alleging they had robbed a lot of persons of valuables that included cash and mobile phones.
According to the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, yesterday, Yahaya told interrogators, “We saw the unprovoked attacks on our members by the Eiye group as asking for war. The last straw was the killing of Tayo and Ibrahim. So we decided at an emergency confraternity meeting called by our leader in June 2020 to instil fear on Ebute Meta residents.
“The first attack was held on June 24, 2020 when we came out massively to attack anybody we saw. Sensing danger, shop owners in the area quickly closed their shops, while residents watched from their windows.”
Elkana told Daily Trust on phone that the rival cult members had engaged one another in a free-for-all on June 25, 2020.
“The following day, the fight snowballed into an uncontrollable stage where weapons such as battle axe, bottles, cutlasses and knives were freely used to attack and injure one another.
“On the strength of a report about the rampage, operatives from the Denton Police Station and those from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) swiftly mobilized to the scene.
“The following suspects/cult members were arrested: Ibrahim Yahaya, 36; John Olorunwa, 23; Ayo Ogunshe,17; Rilwan Fukunle, 21; Fatai Akanbi, 22; Muiz Sanusi, 21; Kazeem Fatai, 23; Samuel Adeyemi; 26; Khalifa Babatunde, 27; Kehinde Oladapo, 23; and Mubarak Alate, 23.
“Machetes, axes and knives were recovered from them. The suspects confessed to be members of Aiye and Eiye confraternities. They also confessed to be engaged in supremacy battle,” the PPRO said.
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