Police

Traditional rulers in Baiyeku area of Igbogbo in Ikorodu, Lagos State on Thursday called for the establishment of police station in their area to stem incidents of cult attacks.

The traditional rulers spoke as another bloody clash between the Aiye and Eiye Confraternities on Thursday in Baiyeku left one person dead, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, who confirmed the incident, told NAN that the clash was due to leadership tussle among the groups.

He said the police responded immediately and arrested 2 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 and 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.

“We appreciate the effort of police at Igbogbo, but much still needed to be done to tackle the menace of cultism.
“If we have police post at least it will complement the effort of the DPO, because once those boys realise that there is no more policemen patrolling the area, they will start their rampage again,” he said.

Also reacting to the killing, the Olukotun of Baiyeku, Chief Idowu Shonibare said that the community could not sleep with two eyes closed as a result of clashes between rival cult groups.

Shobowale said whenever there was clash, market men and women scampered for safety to secure their lives and property.

He called on the authority to urgently do something to curb the activities of cultists, adding that it hinders economic activities in their communities.

“We call on the government to create and station police or army in Baiyeku to create fear in them so that investors would come and invest in our community and save people from living with fear,” he said.