At least four people have lost their lives in separate cult-related clashes that erupted in the Atan-Ota area of Ogun State and the Ojo area of Lagos State.
According to security sources, the Ogun incident occurred around 8 p.m. on Monday in the Kajola area of Atan-Ota, when suspected members of the Aiye confraternity launched an attack on members of the rival Eiye group.
A security operative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the assault appeared to be a revenge strike for the killing of an Aiye member by the Eiye cult about two weeks earlier.
“There was a clash between Aiye and Eiye members. The Aiye group invaded the Kajola area, shooting sporadically before killing three suspected Eiye members. It was a reprisal for a previous attack,” the source revealed.
Anti-cultism advocacy page NaijaConfra also confirmed the attack in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating that the Aiye cult group (also known as NBM) retaliated for the death of one of their members by attacking Popoola and Kajola, the same spots where their member had been killed the previous week.
The post added that at least three people were killed in the assault, one of whom was identified as an Eiye member nicknamed Coded. “This cult war has been ongoing for a long time, with both sides vowing continued revenge,” the group noted.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, were unsuccessful, as she had yet to respond to inquiries as of press time.
In a related development, another suspected cult attack in the Ojo area of Lagos claimed the life of a security guard identified as Ijaya on Monday night.
According to NaijaConfra, the victim, described as a respected community security officer, was ambushed and killed in front of his home on ECOWAS Street by suspected members of the Eiye cult group.
The post read, “Last night, a well-known and respected NBM member named Ijaya, also called CSO, was killed by the Eiye group in front of his home. He was known for being peaceful and accommodating. Tension is now high in the area amid fears of possible reprisal attacks.”
When contacted, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, did not immediately respond to messages sent to her WhatsApp.
Cult-related violence has remained a persistent security concern in Lagos and Ogun states, largely fueled by supremacy battles between rival confraternities.
In August 2024, at least six people were killed during renewed clashes between Aiye and Eiye members in the Ifo area of Ogun State. Similarly, in April 2024, three people reportedly died in a cult clash in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.
Despite frequent police crackdowns and arrests, the repeated outbreaks of violence highlight the deep-rooted nature of cultism across communities in the South-West.
