Lagos cult gangs kill 80 in six months

Samson Folarinwrites that cult groups have killed no fewer than 80 persons in Lagos from January to June 2015 No fewer than 80 people have been killed in Lagos State by cult groups between January and June, 2015. A senior police officer at the Lagos State Police Command gaveSUNDAY PUNCH this statistic. Out of these 80 cases,The PUNCH had reported 65. The senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the figure could be higher than 80 because not all cases were reported to the police. He said, “We have had so many cult killings within the past six months. Most of the cases involved former university students who left school and decided to carry on with their cult related activities after school in their areas. “The number of cases reported cannot be less than 80, and that is leaving out the number of unreported cases.” SUNDAY PUNCH investigations showed that in January alone, no fewer than 16 people were killed in cult-related circumstances. In February, 17 people were murdered while in March no fewer than four people were murdered by cultists. In April, eight people were killed, seven in May and 13 in June. Most of these murders took place in Ikorodu, Mushin, Somolu, Onipanu, Bariga, Ketu and Igando. One of the victims was Debo Uturu, a 25-year-old computer engineer turned tricycle driver. Uturu was killed on Friday, May 15 while on a visit to his mother on Lawani Street, Mushin. Some men numbering about five got entrance into the Uturus’ residence by breaking the fence of an adjoining building. Having succeeded in entering, the men found Uturu as he approached his mother’s room from where he had gone to buy a sachet of water for a dinner of rice prepared by his sister. They opened fire on him. Wounded, Uturu crawled and begged for his life; but he was held down by the men who descended on him with machete blows until he breathed his last.