Three suspected dead after gunmen attack Lagos community

A 22‑year‑old resident, Abdulmalik Bakare, and two other individuals were killed when suspected cultists allegedly carried out a lethal attack on the Oreta community in Ikorodu, Lagos State.

The incident, which took place on Wednesday, has resulted in the arrest of six suspects, according to Bakare’s father, Tunde Bakare.

Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Bakare said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) assigned to the case had promised a thorough investigation.

“The DPO said he would ensure that the case is thoroughly investigated,” he told reporters.

When our correspondent visited Oreta on Sunday, residents were still coping with the violence’s aftermath, and an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty hung over the area.

Investigators suggest the attack may have been linked to an earlier confrontation involving a trailer driver and a group of suspected hoodlums on Gbogbo Road.

A resident who identified himself only as Fasasi reported that armed men on motorcycles entered the community around 8 p.m. and began shooting indiscriminately.

He said tensions had begun earlier in the day when youths stopped a trailer carrying a container and demanded money from the driver.

Fasasi claimed the driver said his employers had already paid N350,000 to certain individuals at a nearby junction.

“It started in the afternoon. The driver of a trailer carrying a container was stopped at Gbogbo by some boys who wanted to collect money from him. The driver said they had paid. Their Chinese owners said they had paid N350,000 to their bosses at the junction,” he recounted.

“But they refused. While they were dragging it at the junction, one of the area boys who climbed the trailer was trapped under the tyre and died. The police said they settled it and that it was an accident,” Fasasi added.

He alleged that after the incident, some youths regrouped and later carried out a retaliatory attack on the community.

“In the night, they gathered their gang members and stormed the community on motorcycles. They came to Oreta and started shooting,” he said.

“The boy was about to close his shop when they killed him. They also killed a physically challenged child who was eating. They started breaking shops and smashing glass doors. A person who came to buy fish was also killed,” he added.

The identities of the other two victims have not been confirmed as of the time of this report.

Residents said the attack triggered panic across the community, forcing many people to flee while commercial activities were abruptly disrupted.

Efforts to obtain an official reaction from the Lagos State Police Command were unsuccessful.

Calls and text messages sent to the command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, were not answered as of the time this report was filed.