Cultists murder bus conductor, dump corpse in Lagoon

A 26-year-old bus conductor, Sikiru Adebayo, has been killed by suspected cult members on Oniyanrin Street, Mile 12, Lagos. The assailants, who were suspected to be Aiye Confraternity members, stormed the area on Monday, last week and attacked the late Adebayo, inflicting machete cuts on his head before pushing him into a lagoon.His corpse was said to have been swept by the current, making it difficult for his relatives to find it...

It was learnt that eventually, his remains were recovered from the Oworonshoki area of the state two days later by fishermen employed by his relatives.PUNCH Metro learnt from residents of Mile 12 that the Osun State indigene was among a crowd of people who ran for dear life when the cult members unleashed mayhem on residents on the fateful day.His elder brother, Moruf Adebayo, explained that they were still reveling in the hangover from the Sallah break when they were attacked.He said, “It was three days after Sallah and we were having fun. One of us was singing, while the rest of us danced and joked.“I went to the toilet, came back and saw some boys- about four of them- wielding cutlasses, bottles, sticks and all forms of weapons.“They started attacking people and we all took to our heels. But my brother could not make it as they pinned him down and hacked his head before pushing him into the water.“I had planned to travel with my brother to Osogbo for a festival and had also given him N58, 000 to keep for me in preparation for the trip when they killed him.”Another resident, Kayode Fafunke, said the gang came from Obanta Street, a neighbouring community.He said, “When the dust had settled, we didn’t know what had happened to Sikiru. But when we didn’t see him, we asked around and somebody said he saw the men cutting somebody with cutlasses and pushing him into the waters.

“His relatives from Osogbo came around and we hired fishermen and paid them to help us look for him.

“It was around 2pm that they called us that they had found his bloated body.”The case was said to have been reported at the Ketu PoliceDivision as police officers came around to take pictures of the corpse and take statements from residents.Our correspondent learnt that the victim had been buried near the water bank.A source in the area identified members of the gang to include Yoko, Sketel, Raphael, Joshua and Omo, all resident of Obanta Street.It was gathered that it was the third time this year that such an attack would happen as security operatives had not been able to handle the crisis.A commercial driver, Ibrahim Oladepo, told our correspondent the gang members were always clashing with another gang identified as Agiliti boys.A resident, Odegbami Yomi, appealed to the government to look into the matter and restore sanity to the area.“It’s unfortunate that we cannot sleep with our eyes closed in this area. This is becoming too much and I believe if the government want to help us, they know what to do to rid this area of cultists. We need urgent intervention,” he said.The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.He said, “Five suspects have been arrested and the matter transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.”