A wave of fear swept through Oreta community in Ikorodu, Lagos state, after suspected cultists killed 22-year-old Abdulmalik Bakare and two other individuals. The attack, which occurred on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, left residents scrambling for safety and disrupted business activities.
Father Speaks Out
The father of the slain youth, Tunde Bakare, revealed in an interview with The Punch on Sunday, June 14, that six suspects have been arrested in connection with the case. He expressed hope that the divisional police officer would ensure a thorough investigation.
Sequence of Events
The deadly incident followed an earlier confrontation involving a trailer driver and local hoodlums on Gbogbo Road. According to a resident named Fasasi, the violence erupted around 8 pm when armed men on motorcycles stormed the community and opened fire on residents.
Fasasi explained that the crisis began in the afternoon when some youths stopped a trailer carrying a container and demanded money from the driver. The driver claimed that the Chinese owners had already paid N350,000 to their bosses at the junction. During the altercation, one of the area boys who climbed onto the trailer was trapped under a tyre and died. Police reportedly settled the matter, labeling it an accident.
Later that night, gang members mobilized and launched a reprisal attack on the community. They stormed Oreta on motorcycles, shooting indiscriminately. Bakare was about to close his shop when he was killed. A physically challenged child who was eating also lost his life. The attackers smashed glass doors, broke into shops, and killed a person who had come to buy fish.
Police Response
Efforts to obtain a statement from the Lagos State Police Command were unsuccessful. Calls and text messages to the command's spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, went unanswered at the time of this report.
Cultism in Nigeria
Cultism has become a critical national security threat in Nigeria, with hardly a week passing without reports of killings or arrests related to clashes between rival cult groups. Between 2006 and 2021, 5,822 deaths were recorded across 31 states and the Federal Capital Territory due to cult-related violence. Southern states, including Rivers, Edo, Delta, Lagos, and Nasarawa, have been disproportionately affected.
In a related incident, a prominent skit maker and professional hairstylist named Austin was found dead with machete cuts in the Lakowe community of Ibeju-Lekki LGA, Lagos. Residents reported that the assailants also cut off Austin's hand.
