Cultists kill security guard in Lagos, three others injured

A security guard named Godwin has been killed by suspected cultists in the Abule Ijesha area of Yaba, Lagos State.

The attack happened on Saturday evening, causing fear in the community.

A police source, who asked to stay anonymous because they were not allowed to speak about the case, said the attackers arrived in a car. They confronted Godwin near his duty post, shot him in the head, and then attacked him with an axe.

The source said, “We received a report that gunmen suspected to be cultists killed a security guard named Godwin in the area. The assailants came in a vehicle and shot him not far from his duty post. Eyewitnesses also reported that they attacked him with an axe.”

After the attack, the gunmen reportedly fired shots into the air as they drove away, making residents panic.

The police source shared that security officials have started an investigation. They are working to find and arrest the attackers.

An anti-cultism group, Naija Confra, posted on Sunday that three other people were shot during the incident.

The group stated, “Eyewitnesses reported that the attackers came in a white Mercedes-Benz, shot at Godwin, and then hit him with an axe on the head and hand. The attackers were also said to have fired randomly at other people in the area, leaving three innocent girls with bullet wounds. It is unclear whether their random shooting killed another person.”

The police have not confirmed these injuries yet.

Attempts to reach the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, CSP Abimbola Adebisi, were unsuccessful. Calls to her phone were not answered, and a text message sent had not received a reply by the time of writing this report.

Cult-related violence has been a regular security issue in parts of Yaba, despite police efforts to tackle it across the state.

In March, PUNCH Metro reported that a student from Yaba College of Technology, Sultan Balogun Owolabi, was shot dead by suspected cultists near the school. A source had said three young men approached the student and shot him at close range before they ran away.