Hyacinth Chinweuba
The Ikorodu cult war which erupted this week has accounted for seven lives.
Police said at least seven people were confirmed killed and one other injured.
This comes in the wake of a clash between local cult groups since the beginning of the week.
This was disclosed by the Lagos State Police Command on Thursday.
Meanwhile, 10 people have been arrested in connection to the violent clash between two cult groups in Ijede; a town in the Ikorodu axis of Lagos.
Spokesman for the Police Command, Bala Elkana, disclosed that the killing of a rival gang member; who was stabbed earlier, triggered the violence since Monday. The other gang, according to him, launched a retaliatory attack which continued until Thursday.
The Police have now deployed anti-riot policemen and a special strike force to deal with the situation, he added.
Meanwhile, another bloody clash between the Aiye and Eiye Confraternities on Thursday in Baiyeku area of Igbogbo in Ikorodu; has left one person dead.
Elkana, who confirmed the incident, revealed that the clash was due to leadership tussle among the groups. He said the police responded immediately and arrested two suspects while investigation was ongoing.
Narrating how the incident happened, Chief Saheed Aleje, Baale of Baiyeku; said the deceased, identified as James Onogu, 39, was shot around 8p.m. at Baiyeku, on Wednesday after returning from work.
According to the Baale, the deceased, a driver, was killed at his residence by some cultists. Subsequently, the corpse was deposited at an unknown place.
“The deceased was trailed and killed in his house by cult members; most of those boys came from neighbouring communities like Agunfoye and Macaulay area in Igbogbo-Baiyeku. After series of investigation, the body was discovered and we immediately alerted the police for necessary action.
“Recently, some cult members came to our community with motorcycles and started shooting into the air to scare people; sometimes they rob people of their belongings,” the chief said.
He appealed to the Federal Government to establish a police station in the community to scare off hoodlums from the area.