Lagos police clash with cult group, kill one
A suspected cult member was killed in a clash between the Lagos police and a cult group in Owode on Wednesday.
Police say they acted on a tip-off that the hoodlums had earlier allegedly attacked and stabbed a rival cult member, Sylvester Chikwendu, in Ketu Alapere area of Lagos State.
State police spokesperson Chike Oti said in a statement that one of the suspects was shot dead during the attack and while others escaped with bullet wounds.
Oti’s statement read: “The onslaught against the twin evil of armed robbery and cultism in the state ended on a high note on Tuesday, September 19, 2018, around 8:30 pm, when operatives of the Lagos State Police Command not only intercepted a rampaging criminal gang but killed one of them during a gun battle.
“A tip-off from a well-meaning citizen to the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Owode Onirin, Ikorodu, Lagos, changed the game for the terror gang, who had around 6.40pm on the same day at Demuren Street, Ketu, stabbed one Sylvester Chikwendu, 32, suspected to be a rival cult member, to death.
“Sequel to the information, the DPO mobilised a crack team to Thomas bus stop, Owode. He told his men to narrow the road and gave them a clear description of the gang’s operational vehicle.
“When the gang approached the police zone, they became desperate and opened fire on the operatives in their last ditched effort to evade arrest, eliciting an immediate response from the team.
“However, in the ensuing gun battle, one of them was fatally wounded, while the others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds. They abandoned the following items at the scene; their operational vehicle, a Toyota Camry saloon, one pump-action rifle, one locally-made revolver pistol, one locally-made single-barrelled pistol, five live 9mm calibre ammunition, three live cartridges, two expended cartridges, two cutlasses, charms and assorted clothing.”
Oti added that a car and some ammunition were recovered from the suspects.
He also said that the Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal has Informed all hospitals and native doctors to inform the police if any bullet victim goes to them for treatment.
