Confusion as suspected cultists disembowel man

Bajulaiye Road.

There was confusion on Friday evening on Bajulaiye Road, Somolu, Lagos State after five suspected cult members stabbed a yet-to-be-identified young man in the middle of the road.

He was said to have been disembowelled and left to die.

As of press time, the fate of the man was unknown after policemen took his blood-soaked body off the road.

Eyewitnesses said the incident happened around 6pm.

It was learnt that while the gang was stabbing the young man, shocked residents could do nothing for fear of being attacked.

However, a Rapid Response Squad van, which was patrolling the area at the time, was said to have given the cultists a hot chase.

Pandemonium reportedly enveloped the area as the policemen began shooting sporadically into the air while chasing the men.

An eyewitness who craved anonymity said, "On sighting the RRS officials, the cultists left their victim who was already soaked in a pool of blood.

"The cultists were five in number. Two of them passed through Ayoade Street, while three others ran down Bajulaiye Road. They had cutlasses in their hands and their hands were stained with blood."

The witness said workers in a printing company in the area, who had closed for the day and were on their way home, ran back when they saw the gang running towards them.

"The policemen thought those who ran into the printing house were the cultists and so they stationed their vehicle outside and began shooting continuously into the air.

"The shooting was much that all those in the company were scared for their lives. The policemen started shouting that those in the complex should come out or else they would shoot them," the witness added.

However, the Divisional Police Officer of the Somolu Police Station was said to have intervened and called the policemen to order after a senior official in the company alerted him to the development.

The policemen subsequently took the body of the victim into their van and drove away.

A resident, who identified himself simply as Segun, told PUNCH Metro that such attacks had become common place.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, could not be reached for comment as her telephone line was not reachable.