Four die in police, cult members’ shootout

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Four persons were feared killed while others were injured during a gun duel between cult groups and police at Oyingbo area of Lagos metropolis yesterday.

The clash between Eiye and Aye snowballed after frightened community members alerted the police who raced to the scene. Rather than bolt when the cult members saw the policemen, they suddenly teamed up and attacked the police.
According to witnesses, when the police realised that the cult members wanted to kill them, they retaliated. In the course of the exchange of the gunfire, four persons were said to have been hit by flying bullets. While some residents said that the four injured men died, another set insisted that only person died, while three others were injured and rushed to the hospital.
The four persons that were hit by the bullets were passers-bye. About 15 suspected cult members stormed the area around 9.30pm, shooting intermittently to scare shop owners and pedestrians. They were also said to have been led by a man known as ‘Small Rainbow.’ It was gathered that the cult members had fomented trouble at old Apapa Road in the afternoon, before retiring to the area in the evening.
When our correspondent visited the area, it was learnt that one of the deceased, Mr Musa Garba, was a northerner, who worked as a truck driver inside the Kanuri Motor Park at Oyingbo. It was also gathered that the late Garba was shot on the left side of his neck. Policemen from the Iponri Police Station, earlier in the morning, came to remove the bodies of those who were killed.
A resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the cult groups had been engaged in a battle of supremacy since Monday. “This is not the first time rival cult groups would engage one another at Oyingbo. Whenever it happens, we always call on the police to come to our rescue. “When the cult members saw the policemen, they opened fire on them.
The fight lasted for hours. After the dust settled, we discovered that one person was killed, while three others sustained injuries from stray bullets,” a resident said. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Kenneth Nwosu, who confirmed the incident, said three suspected cult members had been arrested in connection to the clash.http://newtelegraphonline.com/four-die-in-police-cult-members-shootout/