Ogun cult killings: Again, eight killed in Sagamu

Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta

At least eight people were said to have been killed on  Monday in Sagamu during rival cult groups clash, allegedly involving Eiye Confraternity and Aye otherwise called Black Axe.

The killings in Sagamu reportedly began on Sunday night and continued early Monday morning.

The cult killings in the state started last week when about seven persons were killed in Abeokuta as members of Eiye and Aiye confraternities engaged in a supremacy battle.

The clash between the rival cult group got to its peak following the gruesome murder of an area boy popularly known as Tommy in Oluwo, Abeokuta.

Since the death of Tommy last week Thursday, residents of Abeokuta have been leaving under fear of possible escalation of the crisis.

As of Sunday evening, residents of Panseke, Onikolobo, Oluwo, Adigbe fled for dear lives as gunshots rent the air.

Though the police said 18 persons have been arrested, calm seems not to have been restored as the crisis has now escalated to Sagamu, Remo axis of Ogun.

As early as 7a.m. on Sunday, sources confirmed that some young men stormed the town, killing their targets.

While a few of the victims were picked up by the police, others were said to have been taken away by their parents.

A source told our correspondent that one Akeem, an electrician was killed at Ajegunle area of Sagamu around 7a.m.

“Akeem did not die immediately, but when they were rushing him to hospital, another bike hit them and he fell from the bike. That was how he died eventually. His intestines were coming out because he was shot in the stomach,” the source, who pleaded anonymity said.

It was also gathered that some of the victims were murdered in places like Soyindo, Ijagba, Ajegunle and Sabo, all in Sagamu.

“There’s this pain of praying for the same thing for years and not getting response because we’re channeling our energy in the wrong direction. We want peace in the State, bring an end to this lingering cult clash, it affects everybody. Every street in Sagamu is literally empty,” Awoyemi Michael stated.

At the moment, residents of Sagamu are calling on the police to put the situation under control.

Contacted, the Ogun State Police Spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, promised to find out and revert.

However, he did not pick his calls when our correspondent called him back after about an hour.

Meanwhile, Oyeyemi had earlier threatened that the police would deal with all cultists in the state.

He said the Command would also arrest and prosecute landlords harbouring cultists in Ogun, even as he charged parents to warn their children.

Governor Dapo Abiodun has also assured residents of the State that he would not allow some hoodlums to truncate the peace in Ogun.

Abiodun assured that state would be peaceful for residents and investors alike.