Badoo invades church, kill two kids, mother

*Angry mob threatens to burn police station over Badoo suspect

A nine-month-old girl and eight-year-old boy were allegedly murdered yesterday by suspected Badoo members inside a church at Owode Onirin, Ketu, Lagos State.

Also, angry Ikorodu residents, yesterday, stormed Owode Ajegunle Police Station, threatening to burn it down, after the police rescued a suspected Badoo member from being lynched.

The mothers of the two children, who escaped death by the whiskers, are said to be at the Ikorodu General Hospital, battling to stay alive.

The slain children have been identified as Dabira (Girl) and Ayomide (Boy). The injured women are simply named as Iya Dabira and Iya Ayomide.

According to eye witnesses, the two children were alive when they were rushed to the hospital, but were confirmed dead on arrival by doctors.

The alleged Badoo members were said to have gained access into the premises of the Crystal Church of Christ (Cherubim and Seraphim), located at No, 4 Anibaba Street by scaling the fence, and used a grinding stone to smash the heads of the victims, who were sleeping.

The incident occurred after the church vigil, which ended around 2am. It was gathered that immediately after the vigil; members went to sleep in different parts of the church. The Badoo members are believed to have entered the church around 2:30am and struck.

The screams of members who chanced upon the attack, alerted others, including the church pastor.

The presiding pastor, Mr. Rotimi Ajidara, said, he was still sleeping when some members of the church came to inform him about the attack.

Ajidara said: “I went straight to the church and found the two women and their children in a pool of blood. I alerted some of my neighbors who in turned called the attention of other residents. I have been hearing about Badoo killings, but I never knew they would come to my church. After checking round, I discovered that the killers scaled the fence into the church.”

The pastor further said: “I don’t know what to tell the families of these victims. They only came to my church for vigil. My prayer now is that God should heal the two women who are still battling to survive.”

Mrs. Tolulope Adelaja, a resident, said that when news of the attack filtered out, she joined in rushing the victims to a private hospital.

Adelaja said: “When we got to the private hospital, the doctor looked at the victims and referred us to Ikorodu General Hospital. The children were confirmed dead at the general hospital, while the mothers were admitted. We’re praying to God to revive them.  The two women are on critical condition at the hospital presently. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Owode Onirin Police Station and some officials of the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps assisted us.”

It was also gathered that before the Badoo group stormed the church were they attacked mothers and children; they had earlier visited a celestial church at No, 17 Anibaba Street, where they stole 10 phones, but didn’t harm anyone.

The pastor of the church, where the phones were stolen introduced himself as John. He said he and others were sleeping when the suspected group sneaked into the church, unplugged the phones which were charging and disappeared.

John said: “It was when we woke up around 5am on Tuesday to do our morning devotion that we discovered the phones were missing and noticed traces of engine oil and footsteps.”

John urged the Lagos State Government to do something fast in checking the killings orchestrated by the Badoo group.

While people were reeling from the shock of the attack on the women and children, a suspected Badoo member narrowly escaped death in the hands of angry youths at Anibaba community.

The youths were about to set the suspect on fire, but for the timely intervention of policemen from Owode Police Station.

The angry mob followed the police to station, threatening to burn down the station if the suspect was not handed over to them to kill. The motley crowd was dispersed with canisters of tear gas.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, who confirmed the attack on the church, said it was a murder case and shouldn’t be linked to Badoo members.